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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY  AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


CHRONICLES  OF  BORDER  WARFARE 


UNIVERSITY  of  ILLINOIS 


ALEXANDER  SCOTT  WITHERS 


Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare 

OR,  A 

History  of  the  Settlement  by  the  Whites,  of  North- 
Western  Virginia,  and  of  the  Indian  Wars  and  Massacres 

in  that  section  of  the  State 

WITH 

REFLECTIONS,  ANECDOTES,  &c. 

BY 

I 

ALEXANDER  SCOTT  WITHERS 


&  Ujew  gtfittim 


EDITED  AND  ANNOTATED  BY 

REUBEN  GOLD  THWAITES 

Secretary  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  editor  of  “Wisconsin  Historical  Collections.’' 
and  author  of  “The  Colonies,  1492-1750,”  “  Historic  Waterways,” 

“  Story  of  Wisconsin,”  etc. 


With  the  addition  of  a  Memoir  of  the  Author ,  and  several  Illustrative  Notes 

BY  THE  LATE 

LYMAN  COPELAND  DRAPER 

Author  of  “King’s  Mountain  and  Its  Heroes,”  “Autograph  Collections 

ot  the  Signers,”  etc. 


SECOND  IMPRESSION 


CINCINNATI 

THE  ROBERT  CLARKE  COMPANY 

1903 


^  1 15 

■vr  1  l 


Copyright,  1895 

By  Reuben  Gold  Thwaites 


All  rights  reserved 


CONTENTS. 


Portrait  of  the  Author . Frontispiece. 

PAGE 

Editor’s  Preface .  v 

Memoir  of  the  Author,  by  Lyman  C.  Draper .  viii 

Original  Title-page  (photographic  fac-simile) .  xiii 

Original  Copyright  Notice .  xiv 

Original  Advertisement .  xv 

Original  Table  of  Contents  (with  pagination  revised) . xvii 

Author’s  Text  (with  editorial  notes) .  1 

Index,  by  the  Editor .  431 


EDITOR’S  PREFACE. 

It  is  sixty-four  years  since  the  original  edition  of 
"Withers  s  Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare  was  given  to  the 
public.  The  author  was  a  faithful  recorder  of  local  tra¬ 
dition.  Among  his  neighbors  were  sons  and  grandsons  of 
the  earlier  border  heroes,  and  not  a  few  actual  participants 
in  the  later  wars.  He  had  access,  however,  to  few  con¬ 
temporary  documents.  He  does  not  appear  to  have 
searched  for  them,  for  there  existed  among  the  pioneer 
historians  of  the  West  a  respect  for  tradition  as  the  prime 
source  of  information,  which  does  not  now  obtain  ;  to-day, 
we  desire  first  to  see  the  documents  of  a  period,  and  care 
little  for  reminiscence,  save  when  it  fills  a  gap  in  or  illu¬ 
mines  the  formal  record.  The  weakness  of  the  traditional 
method  is  well  exemplified  in  Withers’s  work.  His  treat¬ 
ment  of  many  of  the  larger  events  on  the  border  may  now 
be  regarded  as  little  else  than  a  thread  on  which  to  hang 
annotations ;  but  in  most  of  the  local  happenings  which 
are  here  recorded  he  will  always,  doubtless,  remain  a  lead¬ 
ing  authority— for  his  informants  possessed  full  knowl¬ 
edge  of  what  occurred  within  their  own  horizon,  although 
having  distorted  notions  regarding  affairs  beyond  it. 

The  Chronicles  had  been  about  seven  years  upon  the 
market,  when  a  New  York  youth,  inspired  by  the  pa-es 
of  Doddridge,  Flint,  and  Withers,  with  a  fervid  love  for 
border  history,  entered  upon  the  task  of  collecting  doc¬ 
uments  and  traditions  with  which  to  correct  and  amplify 
the  lurid  story  which  these  authors  had  outlined.  In  the 
prosecution  of  this  undertaking,  Lyman  C.  Draper  became 
so  absorbed  with  the  passion  of  collecting  that  he  found 
little  opportunity  for  literary  effort,  and  in  time  his  early 
facility  in  this  direction  became  dulled.  He  was  the  most 
successful  of  collectors  of  materials  for  Western  history, 
and  as  such  did  a  work  which  must  earn  for  him  the  last- 
g^titude  of  American  historical  students ;  but  un¬ 
tv) 


VI 


Editor's  Preface. 


fortunately  he  did  little  more  than  collect  and  investigate, 
and  the  idea  which  to  the  last  strongly  possessed  him,  of 
writing  a  series  of  biographies  of  trans- Alleghany  pioneers, 
was  never  realized.  He  died  August  26,  1891,  having  ac¬ 
complished  wondrous  deeds  for  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Society,  of  which  he  was  practically  the  founder,  and  for 
thirty-three  years  the  main  stay;  in  the  broader  domain  of 
historical  scholarship,  however,  he  had  failed  to  reach  his 
goal.  His  great  collection  of  manuscripts  and  notes,  he 
willed  to  his  Society,  which  has  had  them  carefully  classi¬ 
fied  and  conveniently  bound — a  lasting  treasure  for  histo¬ 
rians  of  the  West  and  Southwest,  for  the  important  frontier 
period  between  about  1740  and  1816. 

Dr.  Draper  had  exhibited  much  ability  as  an  editor, 
in  the  first  ten  volumes  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Collec¬ 
tions.  In  1890,  the  Robert  Clarke  Company  engaged  him, 
as  the  best  living  authority  on  the  details  of  Western  border 
history,  to  prepare  and  edit  a  new  edition  of  Withers.  He 
set  about  the  task  with  interest,  and  was  engaged  in  the 
active  preparation  of  “copy”  during  his  last  months  on 
earth;  indeed,  his  note  upon  page  123  of  this  edition  is 
thought  to  have  been  his  final  literary  work.  He  had  at 
that  time  prepared  notes  for  about  one-fourth  of  the  book, 
and  had  written  his  “Memoir  of  the  Author.” 

The  matter  here  rested  until  the  autumn  of  1894, 
when  the  publishers  requested  the  present  writer  to  take 
up  the  work  where  his  revered  friend  had  left  it,  and  see 
the  edition  through  the  press.  He  has  done  this  with 
some  reluctance,  conscious  that  he  approached  the  task 
with  a  less  intimate  knowledge  of  the  subject  than  his 
predecessor;  nevertheless  he  was  unwilling  that  Dr.  Dra¬ 
per’s  notes  on  the  early  pages  should  be  lost,  and  has 
deemed  it  a  labor  of  love  to  complete  the  undertaking  upon 
which  the  last  thoughts  of  the  latter  fondly  dwelt. 

In  the  preparation  of  his  own  notes,  the  editor  has 
had  the  great  advantage  of  free  access  to  the  Draper  Man¬ 
uscripts;  without  their  help,  it  would  have  been  impossi¬ 
ble  to  throw  further  light  on  many  of  the  episodes  treated 
by  the  author.  The  text  of  Withers  has  been  preserved 
intact,  save  that  where  errors  have  obviously  been  typo- 


Editor’s  Preface. 


vn 


graphical,  and  not  intended  by  the  author,  the  editor  has 
corrected  them — perhaps  in  a  dozen  instances  only,  for  the 
original  proof-reading  appears  to  have  been  rather  care¬ 
fully  done.  The  pagination  of  the  original  edition  has  in 
this  been  indicated  by  brackets,  as  [54].  In  the  original, 
the  publisher’s  “ Advertisement  ”  and  the  “  Table  of  Con¬ 
tents”  were  bound  in  at  the  end  of  the  work, — see  colla¬ 
tion  in  Field’s  Indian  Bibliography, — but  evidently  this  was 
a  make-shift  of  rustic  binders  in  a  hurry  to  get  out  the 
long-delayed  edition,  and  the  editor  has  taken  the  liberty 
to  transfer  them  to  their  proper  place ;  also,  while  preserving 
typographical  peculiarities  therein,  to  change  the  pagina¬ 
tion  in  the  “Contents”  to  accord  with  the  present  edition. 
In  order  clearly  to  indicate  the  authorship  of  notes,  those 
by  Withers  himself  are  unsigned;  those  by  Dr.  Draper 
are  signed  “L.  C.  D.”;  and  those  by  the  present  writer, 
“R.  G.  T” 

Reuben  Gold  Thwaites. 

Madison,  Wis., 

February,  1895. 


MEMOIR  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


BY  LYMAN  COPELAND  DRAPER. 

In  1831,  an  interesting  volume  appeared  from  the  press 
of  Joseph  Israel,  of  Clarksburg,  in  North  AVestern  Vir¬ 
ginia,  prepared  by  Alexander  Scott  Withers,  on  the  bor¬ 
der  wars  of  the  AVest.  It  was  well  received  at  the  time 
of  its  publication,  when  works  on  that  subject  were  few, 
and  read  with  avidity  by  the  surviving  remnant  of  the 
participators  in  the  times  and  events  so  graphically  de¬ 
scribed,  and  by  their  worthy  descendants. 

Historians  and  antiquarians  also  received  it  cordially, 
universally  according  it  high  praise.  Mann  Butler,  the 
faithful  historian  of  Kentucky,  declared  that  it  was  “  a 
work  to  which  the  public  was  deeply  indebted,”  composed, 
as  it  was,  with  “  so  much  care  and  interest.”  The  late 
Samuel  G.  Drake,  the  especial  historian  of  the  Red  Alan, 
pronounced  it  “a  work  written  with  candor  and  judg¬ 
ment.”  The  late  Thomas  W.  Field,  the  discriminating 
writer  on  Indian  Bibliography ,  says  :  “  Of  this  scarce  book, 
very  few  copies  are  complete  or  in  good  condition.  Hav¬ 
ing  been  issued  in  a  remote  corner  of  North-AVestern  Vir¬ 
ginia,  and  designed  principally  for  a  local  circulation,  al¬ 
most  every  copy  was  read  by  a  country  fireside  until 
scarcely  legible.  Most  of  the  copies  lack  the  table  of  con¬ 
tents.  The  author  took  much  pains  to  be  authentic,  and 
his  chronicles  are  considered  by  Western  antiquarians,  to 
form  the  best  collection  of  frontier  life  and  Indian  war¬ 
fare,  that  has  been  printed.” 

Of  such  a  work,  now  difficult  to  procure  at  any  price, 
a  new  edition  is  presented  to  the  public.  In  1845,  the 
writer  of  this  notice  visited  the  Virginia  Valley,  collecting 
materials  on  the  same  general  subject,  going  over  much 
the  same  field  of  investigation,  and  quite  naturally,  at  that 
early  period,  indentifying  very  large  the  sources  of  Mr. 
Withers’s  information,  thus  making  it  possible  to  repro- 
(viii) 


Memoir  of  the  Author. 


IX 


.  duce  his  work  with  new  lights  and  explanations,  such  as 
generally  give  pleasure  and  interest  to  the  intelligent 
reader  of  border  history.1 

In  1829,  a  local  antiquary,  of  Covington,  a  beautiful 
little  village  nestling  in  a  high  mountain  valley  near  the 
head  of  James  River,  in  Alleghany  County,  Virginia, 
gathered  from  the  aged  pioneers  still  lingering  on  the 
shores  of  time,  the  story  of  the  primitive  settlement  and 
border  wars  of  the  Virginia  Valley.  Hugh  Paul  Taylor, 
for  such  was  his  name,  was  the  precursor,  in  all  that  re¬ 
gion,  of  the  school  of  historic  gleaners,  and  published  in 
the  nearest  village  paper,  The  Fincastle  Mirror ,  some  twenty 
miles  away,  a  series  of  articles,  over  the  signature  of  “  Son  of 
Cornstalk,”  extending  over  a  period  of  some  forty  stirring 
years,  from  about  1740  to  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War.  These  articles  formed  at  least  the  chief  authority 
for  several  of  the  earlier  chapters  of  Mr.  Withers’s  work. 
Mr.  Taylor  had  scarcely  molded  his  materials  into  shape, 
and  put  them  into  print,  when  he  was  called  hence  at  an 
early  age,  without  having  an  opportunity  to  revise  and 
publish  the  results  of  his  labors  under  more  favorable 
auspices. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Taylor’s  publication,  J udge  Edwin  S. 
Duncan,  of  Peel  Tree,  in  then  Harrison,  now  Barbour 
County,  West  Virginia,  a  gentleman  of  education,  and  well 
fitted  for  such  a  work,  residing  in  the  heart  of  a  region 
rife  with  the  story  of  Indian  wars  and  hair-breadth  es¬ 
capes,  made  a  collection  of  materials,  probably  including 
Mr.  Taylor’s  sketches,  with  a  view  to  a  similar  work  ;  but 
his  professional  pursuits  and  judicial  services  interposed 
to  preclude  the  faithful  prosecution  of  the  work,  so  he 
turned  over  to  Mr.  Withers  his  historic  gatherings,  with 

1  The  venerable  Mark  L.  Spotts,  an  intelligent  and  long-time  resident 
of  Lewisburg,  West  Virginia,  writes,  in  December,  1890:  “  1  had  an  old 
and  particular  friend,  Mr.  Thomas  Matthews,  of  this  place,  who,  many 
years  ago,  conceived  the  idea  of  preparing  and  publishing  a  revised 
edition  of  Withers’s  Border  Warfare,  and  no  doubt  had  collected  many 
facts  looking  to  such  a  publication  ;  but  the  old  man’s  health  grave  way, 
he  died,  and  his  widow  moved  away,  and  what  became  of  his  notes,  I 
can  not  say — perhaps  destroyed.” — L.  C.  D. 


X 


Memoir  of  the  Author. 


such  suggestions,  especially  upon  the  Indian  race,  as  by 
his  studies  and  reflections  he  was  enabled  to  offer. 

Other  local  gleaners  in  the  field  of  Western  history,  par¬ 
ticularly  Noah  Zane,  of  Wheeling,  John  Hacker,  of  the 
Hacker’s  Creek  settlement,  and  others,  freely  furnished 
their  notes  and  statements  for  the  work.  Mr.  Withers, 
under  these  favorable  circumstances,  became  quite  well 
equipped  with  materials  regarding  especially  the  first  set¬ 
tlement  and  Indian  wars  of  the  region  now  comprising 
West  Virginia  ;  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  region 
of  Staunton  and  farther  southwest,  of  the  French  and  In¬ 
dian  War  period,  together  with  Hunmore’s  War,  and  the 
several  campaigns  from  the  western  borders  of  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania  into  the  Ohio  region,  during  the  Revo¬ 
lutionary  War. 

Alexander  Scott  Withers,  for  his  good  services  in  the 
field  of  Western  history,  well  deserves  to  have  his  name 
and  memory  perpetuated  as  a  public  benefactor.  Descend¬ 
ing,  on  his  father’s  side,  from  English  ancestry,  he  was  the 
fourth  child  of  nine,  in  the  family  of  Enoch  K.  and  Jennet 
Chinn  Withers,  who  resided  at  a  fine  Virginia  homestead, 
called  Green  Meadows,  half  a  dozen  miles  from  Warren- 
ton,  Fauquier  county,  Virginia,  where  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born  on  the  12th  of  October,  1792 — on  the 
third  centennial  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America 
by  Columbus.  His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Chinn  and  Jennet  Scott — the  latter  a  native  of  Scotland, 
and  a  first  cousin  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

Passing  his  early  years  in  home  and  private  schools, 
he  became  from  childhood  a  lover  of  books  and  knowl¬ 
edge.  He  read  Virgil  at  the  early  age  of  ten;  and,  in 
due  time,  entered  Washington  College,  and  thence  en¬ 
tered  the  law  department  of  the  venerable  institution  of 
William  and  Mary,  where  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Wythe,  and 
other  Virginia  notables,  received  their  education. 

Procuring  a  license  to  practice,  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  Warrenton,  where  for  two  or  three  years  he 
practiced  his  profession.  His  father  dying  in  1813,  he 
abandoned  his  law  practice,  which  he  did  not  like,  be¬ 
cause  he  could  not  overcome  his  diffidence  in  public 


Memoir  of  the  Author. 


xi 


speaking;  and,  for  quite  a  period,  lie  had  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  his  mother’s  plantation. 

In  August,  1815,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Melinda  Fisher,  a  most  estimable  lady,  a  few  months  his 
junior;  and  about  1827,  having  a  growing  family,  he 
looked  to  the  Great  West  for  his  future  home  and  field 
of  labor,  and  moved  to  West  Virginia,  first  locating  tem¬ 
porarily  in  Bridgeport,  in  Harrison  County,  and  subse¬ 
quently  settling  near  Clarksburg  in  the  same  county, 
where  he  devoted  much  time  in  collecting  materials  for 
and  writing  his  Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare. 

The  publisher,  Joseph  Israel,  who  took  a  deep  inter¬ 
est  in  the  work,  as  his  “Advertisement”  of  it  suggests, 
must  have  realized  ample  recompense  for  the  work,  as  he 
had  subscribers  for  the  full  edition  issued  ;  yet,  from  some 
cause,  he  failed  pecuniarily,  and  Mr.  Withers  got  nothing 
whatever  for  his  diligenee  and  labor  in  producing  it,  save 
two  or  three  copies  of  the  work  itself.  He  used  to  say, 
that  had  he  published  the  volume  himself,  he  would  have 
made  it  much  more  complete,  and  better  in  everyway; 
for  he  was  hampered,  limited,  and  hurried — often  correct¬ 
ing  proof  of  the  early,  while  writing  the  later  chapters. 
Mr.  Israel,  the  publisher,  died  several  years  ago. 

After  this  worthy  but  un remunerative  labor,  Mr. 
Withers  turned  his  attention  to  Missouri  for  a  suitable 
home  for  his  old  age.  He  was  disappointed  in  his  visit  to 
that  new  state,  as  the  richer  portions  of  the  country, 
where  he  would  have  located,  were  more  or  less  unhealthy. 
So  he  returned  to  West  Virginia,  and  settled  near  Weston, 
a  fine,  healthful  region  of  hills  and  valleys,  where  he  en¬ 
gaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  always  took  a 
deep  interest.  He  also  served  several  years  as  a  magis¬ 
trate,  the  only  public  position  he  ever  filled. 

The  death  of  his  wife  in  September,  1853,  broke  sadly 
into  his  domestic  enjoyments;  his  family  were  now  scat¬ 
tered,  and  his  home  was  henceforward  made  with  his  eld¬ 
est  daughter,  Mrs.  Jennet  S.  Tavenner,  and  her  husband, 
Thomas  Tavenner,  who  in  1861  removed  to  a  home  ad¬ 
joining  Parkersburg,  in  West  Virginia.  Here  our  author 
lived  a  retired,  studious  life,  until  his  death,  which  oc- 


Memoir  of  the  Author. 


•  • 

Xll 

curred,  after  a  few  days’  illness,  January  23,  1865,  in  the 
seventy-third  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Withers  had  no  talent  for  the  acquisition  of 
wealth;  hut  he  met  with  marked  success  in  acquiring 
knowledge.  lie  was  an  admirer  of  ancient  literature,  and 
to  his  last  days  read  the  Greek  classics  in  the  original.  A 
rare  scholar,  a  lover  of  books,  his  tastes  were  eminently 
domestic ;  he  was,  from  his  nature,  much  secluded  from  the 
busy  world  around  him.  Nearly  six  feet  high,  rather 
portly  and  dignified,  as  is  shown  by  his  portrait,  taken 
when  he  was  about  sixty  years  of  age — he  was  kind  and 
obliging  to  all,  and  emphatically  a  true  Virginia  gentle¬ 
man  of  the  old  school.  His  sympathies  during  the  War 
of  Secession,  were  strongly  in  favor  of  the  Union  cause, 
the  happy  termination  of  which  he  did  not  live  to  witness. 
His  son,  Henry  W.  Withers,  served  with  credit  during 
the  war  in  the  Union  service  in  the  Twelfth  Virginia 
Regiment. 

Mr.  Withers  was  blessed  with  two  sons  and  three 
daughters — one  of  the  sons  has  passed  away ;  the  other. 
Major  Henry  W.  Withers,  resides  in  Troy,  Gilmer  county, 
West  Virginia;  Mrs.  Tavenner  still  lives  at  Parkersburg; 
Mrs.  Mary  T.  Owen,  at  Galveston,  Texas,  and  Mrs.  Eliza¬ 
beth  Ann  Thornhill,  in  New  Orleans. 


CHRONICLES 


OF 


OR 


A UISTOUX 

OF  THE 

SETTLEMENT  BY  THE  WHITES , 

OF  NORTH  WESTERN  VIRGINIA: 

A.VD 

OF  THE  LYDIAN  WARS  AND  MASSACRES , 

f»  THAT  SECTION  OF  THE  STATE; 
weCB 

REFLECTIONS ,  ANECDOTES, 

BY  ALEXANDER  S.  WITHERS. 

Clarks bcbg,  V,a. 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOSEPH  ISRAEL, 

- <W - 

1831 


Western  District  of  Virginia,  to  wit : 


Be  it  remembered,  That  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  Janu¬ 
ary,  in  the  Fifty-fifth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  Joseph  Israel,  of  the  said  Dis¬ 
trict,  hath  deposited  in  this  Office,  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right 
whereof  he  claims  as  Proprietor,  in  the  words  following,  To  wit: 

“Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare,  or  a  history  of  the  settlement,  by 
the  whites,  of  North-Western  Virginia:  and  of  the  Indian  wars  and 
massacres,  in  that  section  of  the  State;  with  reflections,  anecdotes, 
&c. — By  Alexander  S.  Withers,  1831,”  in  conformity  to  the  act  of  Cong¬ 
ress  of  the  United  States,  entitled  “An  act  for  the  encouragement 
of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts  and  books,  to  the 
Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  men¬ 
tioned;  and  also  to  an  act,  entitled  “An  act  for  the  encouragement 
of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  maps,  charts  and  books,  to  the 
Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein 
mentioned,  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  De¬ 
signing,  Engraving  and  Etching  historical  and  other  prints.” 

JASPER  YEATES  DODDRIDGE, 

Clerk  of  the  Western  District  of  Virginia. 


(xiv) 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


The  “Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare”  are  now  completed  and 
presented  to  the  public.  Circumstances,  over  which  the  publisher 
had  no  control,  have  operated  to  delay  their  appearance  beyond  the 
anticipated  period ;  and  an  apprehension  that  such  might  be  the 
case,  induced  him,  when  issuing  proposals  for  their  publication,  not 
positively  to  name  a  time  at  which  the  work  would  be  completed 
and  ready  for  delivery. 

This  delay,  although  unavoidable,  has  been  the  source  of  regret 
to  the  publisher,  and  has  added  considerably  to  the  expenditure 
otherwise  necessarily  made,  in  attempting  to  rescue  from  oblivion 
the  many  interesting  incidents,  now,  for  the  first  time  recorded. 
To  preserve  them  from  falling  into  the  gulph  of  forgetfulness,  was 
the  chief  motive  which  the  publisher  had  in  viewT ;  and  should  the 
profits  of  the  work  be  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses,  actually  in¬ 
curred  in  its  preparation  and  completion,  he  will  be  abundantly 
satisfied.  That  he  will  be  thus  far  remunerated,  is  not  for  an  in¬ 
stant  doubted, — the  subscription  papers  having  attached  to  them,  as 
many  names  as  there  are  copies  published. 

In  regard  to  the  manner  of  its  execution,  it  does  not  perhaps 
become  him  to  speak.  He  was  attentive  to  his  duties,  and  watched 
narrowly  the  press ;  and  if  typographical  errors  are  to  be  found,  it 
must  be  attributed  to  the  great  difficulty  of  preventing  them,  even 
when  the  author  is  at  hand  to  correct  each  proof  sheet.  They  are 
however,  certainly  few,  and  such  as  would  be  likely  to  escape  ob¬ 
servation. 

JOSEPH  ISRAEL,  Publisher. 


(xv) 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction. — General  view  of  the  discovery  of  North  America,  by 
England,  France  and  Spain — 1  to  11.  Aborigines  of  America — Their 
origin — 12-27.  Their  persons  and  character — Indian  antiquities — 
28-43. 

Chapter  1.  Of  the  country  west  of  Blue  ridge,  difficulties  attending 
its  first  settlement;  Indians  in  neighborhood — their  tribes  and  num¬ 
bers.  Various  parties  explore  the  Valley;  their  adventures.  Benja¬ 
min  Burden  receives  a  grant  of  land;  settles  100  families,  their  gen¬ 
eral  character,  West  of  Blue  ridge  divided  into  two  counties;  its 
present  population,  &c.  Discovery  of  Greenbrier,  explored  by  Martin 
and  Seal;  by  the  Lewis’s,  Greenbrier  Company,  settlement  of  Muddy 
Creek  and  Big  Levels,  of  New  river  and  Holstein ;  of  Gallipolis  by 
French. ...44.. ..62. 

2nd.  North  Western  Virginia,  divisions  and  population.  Import¬ 
ance  of  Ohio  river  to  the  French,  and  the  English;  Ohio  Company; 
English  traders  made  prisoners  by  French,  attempt  to  establish 
fort  frustrated,  French  erect  Fort  du  Quesne;  War;  Braddock’s  de¬ 
feat;  Andrew  Lewis,  character  and  services;  Grant’s  defeat,  capture  of 
Fort  du  Quesne  and  erection  of  Fort  Pitt:  Tygart  and  Files  settle  on 
East  Fork  of  Monongahela,  File’s  family  killed  by  Indians,  Dunkards 
visit  the  country,  settle  on  Cheat,  their  fate;  settlement  under  Decker 
on  the  Monongahela,  destroyed  by  Indians,  pursuit  by  Gibson,  origin 
of  Long  knives — 63-80. 

Chap.  3rd.  Expedition  to  the  mouth  of  Big  Sandy,  ordered  back 
by  governor,  their  extreme  sufferings:  Dreadful  catastrophe  at  Levit’s 
Fort,  Shawnees  visit  James  river  settlements,  their  depredations  and 
defeat,  fortunate  escape  of  Hannah  Dennis,  destruction  at  Muddy 
creek  and  Big  Levels,  Mrs.  Clendennin,  Indians  visit  Jackson  and  Ca¬ 
tawba  rivers,  discovered,  pursued,  overtaken  and  dispersed,  Mrs.  Gunn — 
81-99. 

Chap.  4th.  Indians  commit  depredations  in  Pennsylvania,  burn 
three  prisoners,  excesses  of  Paxton  Boys,  Black  Boys  of  great  service 
to  frontier,  engagement  at  Turtle  creek,  Traders  attempt  to  supply 
Indians,  affair  at  Sidelong  hill,  Fort  Bedford  taken  by  Blackboys, 
Capt.  James  Smith,  his  character  and  services — 100-116. 

Chap.  5th.  Deserters  from  Fort  Pitt  visit  head  of  Monongahela,  The 
Pringles,  Settlements  of  Buckhannon,  of  Hacker’s  creek,  Mononga¬ 
hela  and  other  places,  Of  Wheeling  by  Zane’s,  Their  Character,  Char¬ 
acter  of  Wm.  Lowther,  Objects  and  character  of  the  first  settlers 
generally — 117-133. 

Chap.  6th.  War  of  1774,  Inquiry  into  its  cause,  Boone  and  others 
visit  Kentucky,  Emigrants  attacked  by  Indians,  Surveyors  begin 
operations  there,  Affair  at  Captina,  and  opposite  Yellow  creek,  Ex¬ 
cesses  of  Indians,  Preparations  for  [ii]  war,  Expedition  against  Wappa- 
tomica,  Incursion  of  Logan  and  others,  Of  Indians  on  West  Fork... 
134-158. 

Chap.  7th.  Indians  come  on  Big  Kenhawa,  Lewis  and  Jacob  Whit- 
sel  taken  prisoners,  Their  adventurous  conduct,  Plan  of  Dunmore’s 

(xvii) 


XV111 


Contents. 


campaign,  Battle  at  Point  Pleasant,  Dunmore  enters  Indian  country 
and  makes  peace,  Reflections  on  the  motives  of  Dunmore’ s  conduct... 
159-186. 

Chap.  8th.  General  view  of  the  relative  situation  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  colonies,  British  emissaries  and  American  Tories  stimulate 
the  Savages  to  war,  Progress  of  settlements  in  Kentucky,  Character 
of  Harrod,  Boone  and  Logan,  Attack  on  Harrod’s  fort,  on  Boone’s 
and  on  Logan’s,  Bowman  arrives  to  its  relief,  Comstock  visits  Point 
Pleasant,  Projected  campaign  against  the  Indians  abortive,  Corn- 
stock’s  son  visits  him,  Gilmore  killed,  Murder  of  Comstock,  Of  El- 
linipsico  and  others,  Character  of  Cornstock...l 87-214. 

Chap.  9.  General  alarm  on  the  frontier,  Savages  commit  depre¬ 
dations,  Intelligence  of  contemplated  invasion,  Condition  of  Wheel¬ 
ing,  Indians  seen  near  it,  Two  parties  under  captain  Mason  and  cap¬ 
tain  Ogal  decoyed  within  the  Indian  lines  and  cut  to  pieces,  Girty 
demands  the  surrender  of  Wheeling,  Col.  Zane’s  reply,  Indians  at¬ 
tacks  the  fort  and  retire,  Arrival  of  col.  Swearingen  with  a  reinforce¬ 
ment,  of  captain  Foreman,  Ambuscade  at  Grave  creek  narrows,  con¬ 
spiracy  of  Tories  discovered  and  defeated,  Petro  and  White  taken 
prisoners,  Irruption  into  Tygarts  Valley,  Murder  at  Conoly’s  and  at 
Ste  warts. .  .2 1 5-235. 

Chap.  10.  Measures  of  defence,  Fort  M’lntosh  erected,  exposed 
situation,  commencement  of  hostilities,  Attack  on  Harbert’s  block¬ 
house,  Murder  at  Morgan’s  on  Cheat,  Of  Lowther  and  Hughes,  In¬ 
dians  appear  before  Fort  at  the  point,  Decoy  Lieut.  Moore  into  an  am¬ 
buscade,  a  larger  army  visits  Fort,  stratagem  to  draw  out  the  gar¬ 
rison,  Prudence  and  precaution  of  capt.  M’Kee.  Fort  closely  be¬ 
sieged,  Siege  raised,  Heroic  adventure  of  Prior  and  Hammond  to 
save  Greenbrier,  Attack  on  Donnelly’s  Fort,  Dick  Pointer,  Affair  at 
West’s  Fort,  Successful  artifice  of  Hustead,  Affair  at  Cobern’s  fort, 
at  Strader’s,  Murder  of  Stephen  Washburn,  captivity,  &c.  of  James, 
Projected  invasion  of  Indian  country,  Col.  Clarke  takes  Kaskaskias 
and  other  towns,  Fort  Lawrens  erected  by  Gen.  M’lntosh  and  gar¬ 
rison  ed ...  23  6-256. 

Chap.  11.  Gov.  Hamilton  marches  to  St.  Vincent — critical  situa¬ 
tion  of  col.  Clarke,  his  daring  expedition  against  Hamilton,  condition 
of  Fort  Lawren’s,  Successful  stratagem  of  Indians  there,  Gen.  M’ln¬ 
tosh  arrives  with  an  army,  Fort  evacuated,  Transactions  in  Ken¬ 
tucky,  captivity  of  Boone,  his  escape  and  expedition  against  Paint 
creek  town,  Indian  [iii]  army  under  Du  Quesne  appear  before  Boone's 
fort,  politic  conduct  of  Boone,  Fort  assaulted,  Assailants  repulsed, 
Expedition  against  Chilicothe  towns  under  Bowman,  Its  failure,  Ken¬ 
tucky  increases  rapidly  in  population. ..257-274. 

Chap.  12.  Hacker’s  creek  settlement  breaks  up,  Alarm  of  Indians 
near  Pricket’s  fort,  Stephen  and  Sarah  Morgan  sent  to  farm,  Dream 
and  anxiety  of  their  father,  His  fearful  encounter  with  two  Indians, 
Kills  both,  Heroism  of  Mrs.  Bozarth,  Murders  on  Snow  creek,  cap¬ 
tivity  of  Leonard  Schoolcraft,  Indians  surprize  Martin’s  fort,  destruc¬ 
tion  there,.  Irruptions  into  Tygart’s  valley,  Indians  attack  the  house 
of  Samuel  Cottrail,  Murder  of  John  Schoolcrafts  family,  Projected 
campaign  of  British  and  Indians,  Indians  again  in  Tygart’s  Valley, 
mischief  there,  West’s  fort  invested,  Hazardous  adventure  of  Jesse 
Hughs  to  obtain  assistance,  Skirmish  between  whites  and  savages, 
coolness  and  intrepidity  of  Jerry  Curl,  Austin  Schoolcraft  killed  and 
his  niece  taken  prisoner,  Murder  of  Owens  and  Judkins,  of  Sims. 
Small  Pox  terrifies  Indians,  Transactions  in  Greenbrier,  Murder  of 
Baker  and  others,  last  outrage  in  that  country. ..275. .293. 


Contents. 


xix 


Ciiap.  13.  Operations  of  combined  army  of  British  and  Indians, 
Surrender  of  Ruddle’s  Station,  Outrages  of  savages  there,  Col.  Byrd 
enabled  to  restrain  them,  Martin’s  station  surrenders,  Byrd  returns 
to  the  Indian  towns,  Escape  of  Ilinkstone,  Invasion  of  North  West¬ 
ern  Virginia,  Plan  of  campaign,  Indians  discovered  near  Wheeling, 
Take  prisoners,  Alarmed  for  their  own  safety,  kill  their  prisoners  and 
retire,  Expedition  under  Col.  Broadhead,  against  the  Munsies,  against 
Coshocton,  excesses  of  the  whites  there,  Expedition  under  Gen. 
Clarke  against  Chilicothe  and  Piqua,  Battle  at  Piqua,  Indian  depre¬ 
dations  in  Virginia,  murder  of  capt.  Thomas  and  family,  of  School¬ 
craft,  Manear,  and  others,  Destruction  of  Leading  creek  settlement, 
aggressors  overtaken  by  a  party  under  Col.  Lowther,  Affair  of  Indian 
creek,  murder  of  Mrs.  Furrenash,  Williamson’s  first  expedition  against 
Moravian  Indians,  Prisoners  taken  sent  to  Fort  Pitt,  Set  at  liberty, 
Their  settlements  broken  up  by  Wyandotts...294..317. 

Chap.  14.  The  murder  of  Monteur  and  his  family,  others  taken 
prisoners,  Second  expedition  of  Williamson  against  Moravians,  its  suc¬ 
cess  and  the  savage  conduct  of  the  whites,  Expedition  under  Craw- 
ford,  his  defeat — Is  taken  prisoner  and  burned;  captivity  and  escape, 
of  Doctor  Knight,  of  Slover;  Death  of  Mills — Signal  achievement  of 
Lewis  Whitsel — 318. ..339. 

Chap.  15.  Murder  of  White,  Dorman  and  wife  taken  prisoners; 
Inhabitants  on  Buckhannon  evacuate  the  fort,  attacked  by  Indians 
on  their  way  to  the  Valley;  Whites  visiting  [iv]  Buckhannon  settle¬ 
ment  discovered  and  watched  by  Indians — conduct  of  George  Jackson 
to  obtain  aid,  Stalnaker  killed,  Indians  cross  Alleghany — miss  Gregg 
killed  by  Dorman,  murder  of  mrs.  Pindall,  of  Charles  Washburn,  of 
Arnold  and  Richards — Daring  conduct  of  Elias  Hughes — murder  of 
Corbly’s  family. ..Grand  council  of  Indians  at  Chillicothe,  Its  deter¬ 
minations;  Indian  army  enters  Kentucky;  Affair  at  Bryants  station; 
Battle  of  Blue  Licks — Expedition  under  Gen.  Clarke,  Attack  on  Wheel¬ 
ing,  Attempt  to  demolish  the  fort  with  a  wooden  cannon,  Signal  ex¬ 
ploit  of  Elizabeth  Zane,  Noble  conduct  of  Francis  Duke,  Indians 
withdraw,  Attack  on  Rives  [Rice’s]  Fort,  Encounter  of  Poe  with  two 
I  ndians. .  .340-364. 

Chap.  16.  Peace  with  G.  Britain,  War  continued  by  Indians— 
Operations  in  N.  W.  Virginia. ..murder  of  Daniel  Radcliff,  Attack  on 
Cunninghams  upon  Bingamon,  murders  there;  murders  in  Tazewell, 
of  Davison,  of  Moore,  mrs.  Moore  and  seven  children  taken  prison¬ 
ers,  their  fate — murder  of  Ice,  &c.  Levi  Morgan  encounters  two  In-, 
dians,  Indians  steal  horses  on  West  Fork,  pursued  and  punished  by 
col.  Lowther — murder  of  the  Wests  on  Hacker’s  creek,  Remarkable 
recovery  of  J.  Hacker’s  daughter — murder  of  the  Johnsons  on  Ten- 
mile  creek,  At  Macks,  Artifice  of  John  Sims. ..365. ..383. 

Chap.  17.  Rapid  increase  of  population  of  Kentucky,  opera¬ 
tions  there. ..Preparations  of  the  general  Government  to  carry  on  the 
war  in  the  Indian  country,  Settlement  of  Marietta,  Of  Cincinatti, 
Fort  Washington  erected,  Settlement  of  Duck  creek,  Big  Bottom  and 
Wolf  creeks... Harmar’s  campaign,  murder  of  whites  on  Big  Bottom, 
murder  of  John  Bush — Affair  at  Hansucker’s  on  Dunkard... murder  of 
Carpenter  and  others  and  escape  of  Jesse  Hughes. ..campaign  under 
Gen.  St.  Clair. ..Attack  at  Merrill’s,  Heroic  conduct  of  mrs.  Merrill, 
Signal  success  of  expedition  under  Gen.  Scott... 3 84-407. 

Chap.  18.  Indians  visit  Hacker’s  creek. ..murder  of  the  Waggon¬ 
ers  and  captivity  of  others — murder  of  Neal  and  Triplet,  major  Tru¬ 
man  and  col.  Hardin  killed,  Greater  preparations  made  by  General 
Government,  John  and  Henry  Johnson,  Attack  on  the  hunting  camp 


XX 


Contents. 


of  Isaac  Zane,  Noble  conduct  of  Zane... Treatment  of  Indian  prison¬ 
ers,  Fort  Recovery  erected,  Escape  of  Joseph  Cox. ..murder  of  miss 
Runyan  and  attack  on  Carder’s,  Indians  kill  and  make  prisoners  the 
Cozads,  Affair  at  Joseph  Kanaan’s,  Progress  of  army  under  Gen. 
Wayne,  Indians  attack  and  defeat  detachment  under  M’Mahon,  bat¬ 
tle  of  Au  Glaize  and  victory  of  General  Wayne,  Affair  at  Bozarth’s  on 
Buckhannon., .Treaty  of  Greenville 408. ..430. 


[3]  INTRODUCTION. 

Chapter  I. 


It  is  highly  probable  that  the  continent  of  America 
was  known  to  the  Ancient  Carthaginians,  and  that  it  was 
the  great  island  Atalantis,  of  which  mention  is  made  by 
,  Plato,  who  represents  it  as  larger  than  Asia  and  Africa. 
The  Carthaginians  were  a  maritime  people,  and  it  is 
known  that  they  extended  their  discoveries  beyond  the 
narrow  sphere  which  had  hitherto  limited  the  enterprise 
of  the  mariner.  And  although  Plato  represents  Atalantis 
as  having  been  swallowed  by  an  earthquake,  and  all 
knowledge  of  the  new  continent,  if  any  such  ever  existed, 
was  entirely  lost,  still  it  is  by  no  means  improbable,  that 
it  had  been  visited  by  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  old 
world,  prior  to  its  discovery  by  Columbus  in  1492.  The 
manner  of  this  discovery  is  well  known,  as  is  also  the  fact 
that  Americo  Vespucci,  a  Florentine,  under  the  authority 
of  Emmanuel  king  of  Portugal,  in  sailing  as  far  as  Brazil 
discovered  the  main  land  and  gave  name  to  America. 

These  discoveries  gave  additional  excitement  to  the 
adventurous  spirit  which  distinguished  those  times,  and 
the  flattering  reports  made  of  the  country  which  they  had 
visited,  inspired  the  different  nations  of  Europe,  with  the 
desire  of  reaping  the  rich  harvest,  which  the  enlightened 
and  enterprising  mind  of  Columbus,  had  unfolded  to  their 
view.  Accordingly,  as  early  as  March  1496,  (less  than  two 
years  after  the  discovery  by  Columbus)  a  commission  was 
granted  by  Henry  VII  king  of  England,  to  John  Cabot 
and  his  three  sons,  empowering  them  to  sail  under  the 
English  banner  in  quest  of  new  discoveries,  and  in  the 
event  of  their  success  to  take  possession,  in  the  name  of 

a) 


9 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


the  king  of  England,  of  the  countries  thus  discovered  and 
not  inhabited  by  Christian  people . 

The  expedition  contemplated  in  this  commission  was 
never  carried  into  effect.  But  in  May  1498  Cabot  with  his 
son  Sebastian,  embarked  on  a  voyage  to  attain  the  desired 
object,  and  succeeded  in  his  design  so  far  as  to  effect  a  dis¬ 
covery  of  [4]  North  America,  and  although  he  sailed  along 
the  coast  from  Labrador  to  Virginia,  yet  it  does  not  now 
appear  that  he  made  any  attempt  either  at  settlement  or 
conquest. 

This  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  discovery  ever  made 
of  that  portion  of  our  continent  which  extends  from  the 
G-ulph  of  Mexico  to  the  North  pole  ;  and  to  this  discovery 
the  English  trace  their  title  to  that  part  of  it,  subsequently 
reduced  into  possession  by  them.1 

As  many  of  the  evils  endured  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
western  part  of  Virginia,  resulted  from  a  contest  between 
England  and  France,  as  to  the  validity  of  their  respective 
claims  to  portions  of  the  newly  discovered  country,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  take  a  general  view  of  the  dis¬ 
coveries  and  settlements  effected  by  each  of  those  powers. 

After  the  expedition  of  Cabot,  no  attempt  on  the  part 
of  England,  to  acquire  territory  in  America,  seems  to  have 
been  made  until  the  year  1558.  In  this  year  letters  patent 
were  issued  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  empowering  Sir  Hum¬ 
phrey  Gilbert  to  “  discover  and  take  possession  of  such  re¬ 
mote,  heathen,  and  barbarous  lands,  as  were  not  actually 
possessed  by  any  Christian  prince  or  people.”  Two  expedi¬ 
tions,  conducted  by  this  gentleman  terminated  unfavor¬ 
ably.  Nothing  was  done  by  him  towards  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  the  objects  in  view,  more  than  the  taking  pos¬ 
session  of  the  island  of  New  Foundland  in  the  name  of  the 
English  Queen. 

In  1584  a  similar  patent  was  granted  to  Sir  Walter 

1  The  author  errs  somewhat  in  his  review  of  the  voyages  of  the 
Cabots.  In  1497,  John  set  out  to  reach  Asia  by  way  of  the  north-west, 
and  sighted  Cape  Breton,  for  which  the  generous  king  gave  him  <£10 
and  blessed  him  with  “  great  honours.’’  In  1498,  Sebastian’s  voyage  was 
intended  to  supplement  his  father’s;  his  exploration  of  the  coast  ex¬ 
tended  down  to  the  vicinity  of  Chesapeake  Bay. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


3 


Raleigh,  under  whose  auspices  was  discovered  the  country 
south  of  Virginia.  In  April  of  that  year  he  dispatched 
two  vessels  under  the  command  of  Amidas  and  Barlow, 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting,  and  obtaining  such  a  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  country  which  he  proposed  to  colonize,  as 
would  facilitate  the  attainment  of  his  object.  In  their 
voyage  they  approached  the  North  American  continent 
towards  the  Gulph  of  Florida,  and  sailing  northwardly 
touched  at  an  island  situate  on  the  inlet  into  Pamlico 
sound,  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina.  To  this  island  they 
gave  the  name  of  Wocoken,  and  proceeding  from  thence 
reached  Roanoke  near  the  mouth  of  Albemarle  sound. 
After  having  remained  here  some  weeks,  and  obtained 
from  the  natives  the  best  information  which  they  could 
impart  concerning  the  country,  Amidas  and  Barlow  re¬ 
turned  to  England. 

In  the  succeeding  year  Sir  Walter  had  fitted  out  a 
squadron  of  seven  ships,  the  command  of  which  he  gave 
to  Sir  Richard  [5]  Grenville.  On  board  of  this  squadron 
were  passengers,  arms,  ammunition  and  provisions  for  a 
settlement.  He  touched  at  the  islands  of  Wocoken  and 
Roanoke,  which  had  been  visited  by  Amidas  and  Barlow, 
and  leaving  a  colony  of  one  hundred  and  eight  per¬ 
sons  in  the  island  of  Roanoke,  he  returned  to  England. 
These  colonists,  after  having  remained  about  twelve 
months  and  explored  the  adjacent  country,  became  so  dis¬ 
couraged  and  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  famine,  that  they 
abandoned  the  country.  Sir  Richard  Grenville  returning 
shortly  afterwards  to  America,  and  not  being  able  to  find 
them,  and  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  their  fate,  left  in  the 
island  another  small  party  of  settlers  and  again  set  sail 
for  England. 

The  flattering  description  which  was  given  of  the 
country,  by  those  who  had  visited  it,  so  pleased  Queen 
Elizabeth,  that  she  gave  to  it  the  name  of  Virginia,  as  a 
memorial  that  it  had  been  discovered  in  the  reign  of  a  Vir¬ 
gin  Queen. 

Other  inefficient  attempts  were  afterwards  made  to 
colonize  North  America  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but 
it  was  not  ’till  the  year  1607,  that  a  colony  was  perma- 


4 


Withers's  Chronicles 


nently  planted  there.  In  December  of  the  preceding  year 
a  small  vessel  and  two  barks,  under  the  command  of  cap¬ 
tain  Newport,  and  having  on  hoard  one  hundred  and  five 
men,  destined  to  remain,  left  England.  In  April  they 
were  driven  by  a  storm  into  Chesapeak  bay,  and  after  a 
fruitless  attempt  to  land  at  Cape  Henry,  sailed  up  the 
Powhatan  (since  called  James)  River,  and  on  the  13th  of 
May  1607,  debarked  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  at  a 
place  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Jamestown.  From 
this  period  the  country  continued  in  the  occupancy  of 
the  whites,  and  remained  subject  to  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain  until  the  war  of  the  revolution. 

A  new  charter  which  was  issued  in  1609  grants  to 
“the  treasurer  and  company  of  the  adventurers,  of  the 
city  of  London  for  the  first  colony  of  Virginia,  in  absolute 
property  the  lands  extending  from  Point  Comfort  along 
the  sea  coast  two  hundred  miles  to  the  northward,  and 
from  the  same  point,  along  the  sea  coast  two  hundred 
miles  to  the  southward,  and  up  into  the  land  throughout 
from  sea  to  sea,  west  and  north-west ;  and  also  all  islands 
lying  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  coast  of  both  seas 
of  the  precinct  aforesaid.”  Conflicting  charters,  granted 
to  other  corporations,  afterwards  narrowed  her  limits ; 
that  she  has  been  since  reduced  to  her  present  compara¬ 
tively  small  extent  of  territory,  is  attributable  exclusively 
[6]  to  the  almost  suicidal  liberality  of  Virginia  herself. 

On  the  part  of  France,  voyages  for  the  discovery  and 
colonization  of  North  America  were  nearly  contempo¬ 
raneous  with  those  made  by  England  for  like  objects.  As 
early  as  the  year  1540,  a  commission  was  issued  by  Francis 
1st  for  the  establishment  of  Canada.1  In  1608,  a  French 
fleet,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Champlaine,  arrived 

1  This  refers  to  the  explorations  of  Jacques  Cartier.  But  as  early  as 
1534  Cartier  sailed  up  the  estuary  of  the  St.  Lawrence  “  until  land  could 
be  seen  on  either  side the  following  year  he  ascended  the  river  as 
far  as  the  La  Chine  rapids,  and  wintered  upon  the  island  mountain  there 
which  he  named  Mont  Real.  It  was  in  1541  that  he  made  his  third 
voyage,  and  built  a  fort  at  Quebec.  The  author’s  reference,  a  few  lines 
below,  to  a  “  Spanish  sailor  ”  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  is  the  result  of  con¬ 
fusion  over  Cartier’s  first  voyages ;  Cortereal  was  at  Newfoundland  for 
the  Portuguese  in  1500 ;  and  Gomez  for  Spain  in  1525. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


5 


in  the  St.  Lawrence  and  founded  the  city  of  Quebec.  So 
successful  were  her  attempts  to  colonize  that  province, 
that,  notwithstanding  its  proximity  to  the  English  colo¬ 
nies,  and  the  fact  that  a  Spanish  sailor  had  previously  en¬ 
tered  the  St.  Lawrence  and  established  a  port  at  the  mouth 
of  Grand  river — neither  of  those  powers  seriously  con¬ 
tested  the  right  of  France  to  its  possession. —  Yet  it  was 
frequently  the  theatre  of  war ;  and  as  early  a3  1629  was 
subdued  by  England.  By  the  treaty  of  St.  Germains  in 
1632  it  was  restored  to  France,  as  was  also  the  then  prov¬ 
ince  of  Acadie,  now  known  as  Nova  Scotia.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  that  this  latter  province  was,  by  priority  of 
settlement,  the  property  of  France,  but  its  principal  town 
having  been  repeatedly  reduced  to  possession  by  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  it  was  ceded  to  them  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  in 
1713. 

To  the  country  bordering  the  Mississippi  river,  and  its 
tributary  streams,  a  claim  was  made  by  England,  France 
and  Spain.  The  claim  of  England  (based  on  the  discovery 
by  the  Cabots  of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  United  States,) 
included  all  the  country  between  the  parallels  of  latitude 
within  which  the  Atlantic  shore  was  explored,  extending 
westwardly  to  the  Pacific  ocean — a  zone  athwart  the  con¬ 
tinent  between  the  thirtieth  and  forty-eighth  degrees  of 
North  latitude. 

From  the  facility  with  which  the  French  gained  the 
good  will  and  friendly  alliance  of  the  Natives  in  Canada, 
by  intermarrying  with,  and  assimilating  themselves  to  the 
habits  and  inclinations  of,  these  children  of  the  forest,  an 
intimacy  arose  which  induced  the  Indians  to  impart  freely 
to  the  French  their  knowledge  of  the  interior  country. 
Among  other  things  information  was  communicated  to 
them,  of  the  fact  that  farther  on  there  was  a  river  of  great 
size  and  immense  length,  which  pursued  a  course  opposite 
to  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  emptied  itself  into  an 
unknown  sea.  It  was  conjectured  that  it  must  necessarily 
flow  either  into  the  Gulph  of  Mexico,  or  the  South  Sea; 
and  in  1673  Marquette  and  Joliet,  French  missionaries, 
together  with  five  other  men,  commenced  a  journey 


6 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[7]  from  Quebec  to  ascertain  the  fact  and  examine  the 
country  bordering  its  shores. 

From  lake  Michigan  they  proceeded  up  the  Fox  river 
nearly  to  its  source;  thence  to  Ouisconsin ;  down  it  to  the 
Mississippi,  in  which  river  they  sailed  as  far  as  to  about 
the  thirty-third  degree  of  north  latitude.  From  this  point 
they  returned  through  the  Illinois  country  to  Canada. 

At  the  period  of  this  discovery  M.  de  La  Salle,  a 
Frenchman  of  enterprise,  courage  and  talents  but  without 
fortune,  was  commandant  of  fort  Frontignac.  Pleased 
with  the  description  given  by  Marquette  and  Joliet,  of  the 
country  which  they  had  visited,  he  formed  the  determina¬ 
tion  of  examining  it  himself,  and  for  this  purpose  left  Can¬ 
ada  in  the  close  of  the  summer  of  1679,  in  company  with 
father  Louis  Hennepin  and  some  others.1  On  the  Illinois 
he  erected  fort  Crevecceur,  where  he  remained  during  the 
winter,  and  instructing  father  Hennepin,  in  his  absence  to 
ascend  the  Mississippi  to  its  sources,  returned  to  Canada. 
M.  de  La  Salle  subsequently  visited  this  country,  and  estab¬ 
lishing  the  villages  of  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia,  left  them 
under  the  command  of  M.  de  Tonti,  and  going  back  to 
Canada,  proceeded  from  thence  to  France  to  procure  the 
co-operation  of  the  Ministry  in  effecting  a  settlement  of 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  He  succeeded  in  impressing 
on  the  minds  of  the  French  Ministry,  the  great  benefits 
which  would  result  from  its  colonization,  and  was  the  first 
to  suggest  the  propriety  of  connecting  the  settlements  on 
the  Mississippi  with  those  in  Canada  by  a  cordon  of  forts; 
a  measure  which  was  subsequently  attempted  to  be  carried 
into  effect. 

With  the  aid  afforded  him  by  the  government  of 
France,  he  was  enabled  to  prepare  an  expedition  to  accom¬ 
plish  his  object,  and  sailing  in  1684  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  steered  too  far  westward  and  landed  in  the 
province  of  Texas,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Guada- 
loupe.  Every  exertion  which  a  brave  and  prudent  man 

1  The  author  wrote  at  too  early  a  date  to  have  the  benefit  of  Park- 
man’s  researches.  La  Salle  had  probably  discovered  the  Ohio  River 
four  years  before  the  voyage  of  Joliet  and  Marquette. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


7 


could  make  to  effect  the  security  of  his  little  colony,  and 
conduct  them  to  the  settlement  in  Illinois,  was  fruitlessly 
made  by  him.  In  reward  for  all  his  toil  and  care  he  was 
basely  assassinated;  the  remnant  of  the  party  whom  he 
was  conducting  through  the  wilderness,  finally  reached  the 
Arkansas,  where  was  a  settlement  of  French  emigrants 
from  Canada.  The  colonists  left  by  him  at  the  bay  of  St. 
Bernard  were  mostly  murdered  by  the  natives,  the  remain¬ 
der  were  carried  away  by  the  Spaniards  in  1689. 

[8]  Other  attempts  made  by  the  French  to  colonize  the 
Mississippi  near  the  Gulph  of  Mexico,  were  for  some  time 
unavailing.  In  an  expedition  for  that  purpose,  conducted 
by  M.  Ibberville,  a  suit  of  armor  on  which  was  inscribed 
Ferdinand  de  Soto,  was  found  in  the  possession  of  some 
Indians.  In  the  year  1717  the  spot,  on  which  New  Orleans 
now  stands,  was  selected  as  the  centre  of  the  settlements, 
then  first  made  in  Louisiana,  and  the  country  continued  in 
the  possession  of  France  until  1763.  By  the  treaty  of  Paris 
in  that  year,  she  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  together  with 
Canada  her  possessions  east  of  the  Mississippi,  excepting 
only  the  island  of  New  Orleans — this  and  her  territory  on 
the  west  bank  of  that  river  were  transferred  to  Spain. 

The  title  of  Spain  to  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  if 
made  to  depend  on  priority  of  discovery,  would  perhaps, 
to  say  the  least,  be  as  good  as  that  of  either  of  the  other 
powers.  Ferdinand  de  Soto,  governor  of  Cuba,  was  most 
probably  the  first  white  man  who  saw  that  majestic 
stream. 

The  Spaniards  had  early  visited  and  given  name  to 
Florida.  In  1528  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez  obtained  a  grant 
of  it,  and  fitting  out  an  armament,  proceeded  with  four  or 
five  hundred  men  to  explore  and  settle  the  country.  He 
marched  to  the  Indian  village  of  Appalachas,  when  he  was 
attacked  and  defeated  by  the  natives.  The  most  of  those 
who  escaped  death  from  the  hands  of  the  savages,  perished 
in  a  storm,  by  which  they  were  overtaken  on  their  voyage 
home.  Narvaez  himself  perished  in  the  wreck,  and  was 
succeeded  in  his  attempt  at  colonization  by  de  Soto. 

Ferdinand  de  Soto,  then  governor  of  Cuba,  was  a  man 
of  chivalrous  and  enterprising  spirit,  and  of  cool,  deliber- 


8 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


ate  courage.  In  his  expedition  to  Florida,  although  at¬ 
tacked  by  the  Indians,  immediately  on  his  landing,  yet, 
rather  seeking  than  shunning  danger,  he  penetrated  the 
interior,  and  crossing  the  Mississippi,  sickened  and  died  on 
lied  river.  So  frequent  and  signal  had  been  the  victories 
which  he  had  obtained  over  the  Indians,  that  his  name 
alone  had  become  an  object  of  terror  to  them  ;  and  his  fol¬ 
lowers,  at  once  to  preserve  his  remains  from  violation,  and 
prevent  the  natives  from  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  his 
death,  enclosed  his  body  in  a  hollow  tree,  sunk  it  in  the 
Red  river  and  returned  to  Florida. 

Thus,  it  is  said,  were  different  parts  of  this  continent 
discovered;  and  by  virtue  of  the  settlements  thus  effected, 
by  [9]  those  three  great  powers  of  Europe,  the  greater  por¬ 
tion  of  it  was  claimed  as  belonging  to  them  respectively,  in 
utter  disregard  of  the  rights  of  the  Aborigines.  And 
while  the  historian  records  the  colonization  of  America  as 
an  event  tending  to  meliorate  the  condition  of  Europe,  and 
as  having  extended  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  lib¬ 
erty,  humanity  must  drop  the  tear  of  regret,  that  it  has 
likewise  forced  the  natives  of  the  new,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  a  portion  of  the  old  world,  to  drink  so  deeply  from  the 
cup  of  bitterness. 

The  cruelties  which  have  been  exercised  on  the  Abo¬ 
rigines  of  America,  the  wrong  and  outrage  heaped  on 
them  from  the  days  of  Montezuma  and  Guatimozin,  to  the 
present  period,  while  they  excite  sympathy  for  their  suf¬ 
ferings,  should  extenuate,  if  not  justify  the  bloody  deeds, 
which  revenge  prompted  the  untutored  savages  to  com¬ 
mit.  Driven  as  they  were  from  the  lands  of  which  they 
were  the  rightful  proprietors — Yielding  to  encroachment 
after  encroachment  ’till  forced  to  apprehend  their  utter 
annihilation — Witnessing  the  destruction  of  their  villages, 
the  prostration  of  their  towns  and  the  sacking  of  cities 
adorned  with  spendid  magnificence,  who  can  feel  surprised 
at  any  attempt  which  they  might  make  to  rid  the  country 
of  its  invaders.  Who,  but  must  applaud  the  spirit  which 
prompted  them,  when  they  beheld  their  prince  a  captive, 
the  blood  of  their  nobles  staining  the  earth  with  its  crim¬ 
son  dye,  and  the  Gods  of  their  adoration  scoffed  and  de- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


9 


rided,  to  aim  at  the  destruction  of  their  oppressors. — 
When  Mexico,  “  with  her  tiara  of  proud  towers,”  became 
the  theatre  in  which  foreigners  were  to  revel  in  rapine  and 
in  murder,  who  can  he  astonished  that  the  valley  of 
Otumba  resounded  with  the  cry  of  “  Victory  or  Death  ?  ” 
And  yet,  resistance  on  their  part,  served  hut  as  a  pretext 
for  a  war  of  extermination  ;  waged  too,  with  a  ferocity, 
from  the  recollection  of  which  the  human  mind  involun¬ 
tarily  revolts,  and  with  a  success  which  has  forever  blotted 
from  the  book  of  national  existence,  once  powerful  and 
happy  tribes. 

But  they  did  not  suffer  alone.  As  if  to  fill  the  cup  of 
oppression  to  the  brim,  another  portion  of  the  human 
family  were  reduced  to  abject  bondage,  and  made  the  un¬ 
willing  cultivators  of  those  lands,  of  which  the  Indians 
had  been  dispossessed.  Soon  after  the  settlement  of  North 
America  was  commenced,  the  negroes  of  Africa  became 
an  article  of  commerce,  and  from  subsequent  importations 
and  natural  [10]  increase  have  become  so  numerous  as  to 
excite  the  liveliest  apprehensions  in  the  bosom  of  every 
friend  to  this  country.  Heretofore  they  have  had  consid¬ 
erable  influence  on  the  affairs  of  our  government;  and 
recently  the  diversity  of  interest,  occasioned  in  Virginia, 
by  the  possession  of  large  numbers  of  them  in  the 
country  east  of  the  blue  ridge  of  mountains,  seemed 
for  a  while  to  threaten  the  integrity  of  the  state. — Happily 
this  is  now  passing  away,  but  how  far  they  may  effect  the 
future  destines  of  America,  the  most  prophetic  ken  cannot 
foresee.  Yet,  although  the  philanthopist  must  weep  over 
their  unfortunate  situation,  and  the  patriot  shudder 
in  anticipation  of  a  calamity  which  it  may  defy  human 
wisdom  to  avert;  still  it  would  he  unfair  to  charge  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  slavery  among  us  to  the  policy  of  the  United 
States,  or  to  brand  their  present  owners  as  the  instruments 
of  an  evil  which  they  cannot  remove.  And  while  others 
boast  that  they  are  free  from  this  dark  spot,  let  them  re¬ 
member,  that  but  for  them  our  national  escutcheon  might 
have  been  as  pure  and  unsullied  as  their  own.1 


1  It  is  said,  that  Georgia,  at  an  early  period  of  her  colonial  exist* 


10 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


We  are  indebted  to  the  Dutch  for  their  introduction 
into  Virginia,  and  to  the  ships  of  other  than  slave  holding 
communities,  for  their  subsequent  unhallowed  transporta¬ 
tion  to  our  shores.  Yet  those  who  were  mainly  instru¬ 
mental  in  forging  the  chains  of  bondage,  have  since  ren¬ 
dered  the  condition  of  the  negro  slave  more  intolerable 
by  fomenting  discontent  among  them,  and  by  “  scattering 
fire  brands  and  torches,”  which  are  often  not  to  be  extin¬ 
guished  but  in  blood. 

Noth  withstanding  those  two  great  evils  which  have 
resulted  from  the  discovery  and  colonization  of  America, 
yet  to  these  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  enjoyment  of 
many  and  great  blessings.  They  enlarged  the  theatre  of 
agricultural  enterprise,  and  thus  added  to  the  facilities  of 
procuring  the  necessaries  of  life.  They  encouraged  the 
industry  of  Europeans,  by  a  dependence  on  them  for  al¬ 
most  every  species  of  manufacture,  and  thus  added  con¬ 
siderably  to  their  population,  wealth  and  happiness;  while 
the  extensive  tracts  of  fertile  land,  covering  the  face  of 
this  country  and  inviting  to  its  bosom  the  enterprising  [11] 
foreigner,  has  removed  a  far  off  any  apprehension  of  the 
ill  effects  arising  from  a  too  dense  population. 

In  a  moral  and  political  point  of  view  much  good  has 
likewise  resulted  from  the  settlement  of  America.  Relig¬ 
ion,  freed  from  the  fetters  which  enthralled  her  in  Europe, 
has  shed  her  benign  influence  on  every  portion  of  our  coun¬ 
try.  Divorced  from  an  adulterous  alliance  with  state,  she 
has  here  stalked  forth  in  the  simplicity  of  her  founder; 
and  with  “  healing  on  her  wings,  spread  the  glad  tidings 
of  salvation  to  all  men.”  It  is  true  that  religious  intoler¬ 
ance  and  blind  bigotry,  for  some  time  clouded  our  horizon, 
but  they  were  soon  dissipated ;  and  when  the  sun  arose 
which  ushered  in  the  dawn  of  our  national  existence  scarce 
a  speck  could  be  seen  to  dim  its  lustre.  Here  too  was 

ence,  endeavored  by  legislative  enactment  to  prevent  the  importation 
of  slaves  into  her  territory,  but  that  the  King  of  England  invariably 
negatived  those  laws,  and  ultimately  Oglethorpe  was  dismissed  from 
office,  for  persevering  in  the  endeavor  to  accomplish  so  desirable  an  ob¬ 
ject.  It  is  an  historical  fact  that  slaves  were  not  permitted  to  be  taken 
into  Georgia,  for  some  time  after  a  colony  was  established  there. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


11 


reared  the  standard  of  civil  liberty,  and  an  example  set, 
which  may  teach  to  the  nations  of  the  old  world,  that  as 
people  are  really  the  source  of  power,  government  should 
be  confided  to  them.  Already  have  the  beneficial  effects 
of  this  example  been  manifested,  and  the  present  condition 
of  Europe  clearly  shows,  that  the  lamp  of  liberty,  which 
was  lighted  here,  has  burned  with  a  brilliancy  so  steady  as 
to  have  reflected  its  light  across  the  Atlantic.  Whether  it 
will  be  there  permitted  to  shine,  is  somewhat  problemati¬ 
cal.  But  should  a  “holy  alliance  of  legitimates”  extin¬ 
guish  it,  it  will  be  but  for  a  season.  Kings,  Emperors  and 
Priests  cannot  succeed  much  longer  in  staying  the  march 
of  freedom.  The  people  are  sensibly  alive  to  the  oppres¬ 
sion  of  their  rulers — they  have  groaned  beneath  the  bur¬ 
den  ’till  it  has  become  too  intolerable  to  be  borne  ;  and 
they  are  now  speaking  in  a  voice  which  will  make  tyrants 
tremble  on  their  throne. 


12 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


[12]  INTRODUCTION. 

Chapter  II. 

When  America  was  first  visited  by  Europeans,  it  was 
found  that  its  inhabitants  were  altogether  ignorant  of  the 
country  from  which  their  ancestors  had  migrated,  and  of 
the  period  at  which  they  had  been  transplanted  to  the  new 
world.  And  although  there  were  among  them  traditions 
seeming  to  cast  a  light  upon  these  subjects,  yet  when  thor¬ 
oughly  investigated,  they  tended  rather  to  bewilder  than 
lead  to  any  certain  conclusion.  The  origin  of  the  natives 
has  ever  since  been  a  matter  of  curious  speculation  with 
the  learned;  conjecture  has  succeeded  conjecture,  hypoth¬ 
esis  has  yielded  to  hypothesis,  as  wave  recedes  before  wave, 
still  it  remains  involved  in  a  labyrinth  of  inexplicable  dif¬ 
ficulties,  from  which  the  most  ingenious  mind  will  perhaps 
never  be  able  to  free  it. 

In  this  respect  the  situation  of  the  aborigines  of  Amer¬ 
ica  does  not  differ  from  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  other 
portions  of  the  globe.  An  impenetrable  cloud  hangs  over 
the  early  history  of  other  nations,  and  defies  the  researches 
of  the  learned  in  any  attempt  to  trace  them  to  their  origin. 
The  attempt  has  nevertheless  been  repeatedly  made;  and 
philosophers,  arguing  from  a  real  or  supposed  conformity 
of  one  people  to  another,  have  vainly  imagined  that  they 
had  attained  to  certainty  on  these  subjects.  And  while 
one  has  in  this  manner,  undertaken  to  prove  China  to  have 
been  an  Egyptian  colony,  another,  pursuing  the  same  course 
of  reasoning,  has,  by  way  of  ridicule,  shewn  how  easily  a 
learned  man  of  Tobolski  or  Pekin  might  as  satisfactorily 
prove  France  to  have  been  a  Trojan,  a  Greek  or  even  an 
Arabian  colony;  thus  making  manifest  the  utter  futility 
of  endeavoring  to  arrive  at  certainty  in  this  way.1 

1  “  If  a  learned  man  of  Tobolski  or  Pekin  were  to  read  some  of  our 
books,  be  might  in  this  way  demonstrate,  that  the  French  are  descended 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


13 


[13]  Nor  is  this  to  be  at  all  wondered  at,  when  we  reflect 
on  the  barbarous  state  of  those  nations  in  their  infancy, 
the  imperfection  of  traditionary  accounts  of  what  had. 
transpired  centuries  before,  and  in  many  instances  the  em 
tire  absence  of  a  written  language,  by  which,  either  to  per^ 
petuate  events,  or  enable  the  philosopher  by  analogy  of 
language  to  ascertain  their  affinity  with  other  nations. 
Conjectural  then  as  must  be  every  disquisition  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  this  continent  was  first  peopled,  still 
however,  as  many  men  eminent  for  learning  and  piety 
have  devoted  much  labor  and  time  to  the  investigation  of 
the  subject,  it  may  afford  satisfaction  to  the  curious  to  see 
some  of  those  speculations  recorded.  Discordant  as  they 
are  in  many  respects,  there  is  nevertheless  one  fact  as  to 
the  truth  of  which  they  are  nearly  all  agreed;  Mr.  Jeffer¬ 
son  is  perhaps  the  only  one,  of  those  who  have  written  on 
the  subject,  who  seems  to  discredit  the  assertion  that 

from  the  Trojans.  The  most  ancient  writings,  he  might  say,  and  those 
in  most  esteem  in  France,  are  romances:  these  were  written  in  a  pure 
language,  derived  from  the  ancient  Romans,  who  were  famous  for  never 
advancing  a  falsehood.  Now  upwards  of  twenty  of  these  authentic 
books,  affirm  that  Francis,  the  founder  of  the  monarchy  of  the  Franks, 
was  son  to  Hector.  The  name  of  Hector  has  ever  since  been  preserved 
by  this  nation  ;  and  even  in  the  present  century  one  of  the  greatest  gen¬ 
erals  was  called  Hector  de  Villars. 

“  The  neighboring  nations  (he  would  continue,)  are  so  unanimous  in 
acknowledging  this  truth,  that  Ariosto,  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the 
Italians,  owns  in  his  Orlando,  that  Charlemagne’s  knights  fought  for 
Hector’s  helmet.  Lastly,  there  is  one  proof  which  admits  of  no  reply ; 
namely,  that  the  ancient  Franks  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the 
Trojans,  their  ancestors,  built  a  new  city  called  Troye,  in  the  province 
of  Champagne;  and  these  modern  Trojans  have  always  retained  so 
strong  an  aversion  to  their  enemies,  the  Greeks,  that  there  is  not  at 
present  four  persons  in  the  whole  province  of  Champagne,  who  will 
learn  their  language;  nay,  they  would  never  admit  any  Jesuits  among 
them ;  probably  because  they  had  heard  it  said,  that  some  of  that  body 
used  formerly  to  explain  Homer  in  their  public  schools.” 

Proceeding  in  this  manner,  M.  de  Voltaire  shows  how  easily  this 
hypothesis  might  be  overturned;  and  while  one  might  thus  demon¬ 
strate  that  the  Parisians  are  descended  from  the  Greeks,  other  profound 
antiquarians  might  in  like  manner  prove  them  to  be  of  Egyptian,  or 
even  of  Arabian  extraction  ;  and  although  the  learned  world  might 
much  puzzle  themselves  to  decide  the  question,  yet  would  it  remain  un¬ 
decided  and  in  uncertainty. — Preface  to  the  Life  of  Peter  the  Great. 


14 


Withers's  Chronicles 


America  was  peopled  by  emigrants  from  the  old  world. 
How  well  the  conjecture,  that  the  eastern  inhabitants  of 
Asia  were  descendants  of  the  Indians  of  America  can  he 
supported  by  any  knowledge  which  is  possessed  of  the 
different  languages  spoken  by  the  Aborigines,  will  he  for 
others  to  determine.  “  Neque  contirmare  argumentis, 
neque  refellere,  in  animo  est ;  ex  ingenio  suo,  quisque 
demat  vel  add  at  fidem.” 

Among  those  who  have  given  to  the  world  their  opin¬ 
ions  on  the  origin  of  the  natives  of  America,  is  Father 
Jos.  Acosta,  a  Jesuit  who  was  for  some  time  engaged  as  a 
missionary  among  them.  From  the  fact  that  no  ancient 
author  has  made  mention  of  the  [14]  compass,  he  discredits 
the  supposition  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  this  coun¬ 
try  found  their  way  here  by  sea.  His  conclusion  is  that 
they  must  have  found  a  passage  by  the  North  of  Asia  and 
Europe  which  he  supposes  to  join  each  other;  or  by  those 
regions  which  lie  southward  of  the  straits  of  Magellan. 

Gregorio  Garcia,  who  was  likewise  a  missionary 
among  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians,  from  the  traditions 
of  those  nations,  and  from  the  variety  of  characters,  cus¬ 
toms,  languages  and  religion,  observable  in  the  new  world, 
has  formed  the  opinion  that  it  was  peopled  by  several  dif¬ 
ferent  nations. 

John  de  Laet,  a  Flemish  writer,  maintains  that  Amer¬ 
ica  received  its  first  inhabitants  from  Scythia  or  Tartary, 
and  soon  after  the  dispersion  of  Noah’s  grand-sons.  The 
resemblance  of  the  northern  Indians,  in  feature,  complex¬ 
ion  and  manner  of  living,  to  the  Scythians,  Tartars,  and 
Samojedes,  being  greater  than  to  any  other  nations. 

Emanuel  de  Moraez,  in  his  history  of  Brazil,  says 
that  this  continent  was  wholly  peopled  by  the  Carthagi¬ 
nians  and  Israelites.  In  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  he 
mentions  the  discoveries  which  the  Carthaginians  are 
known  to  have  made  beyond  the  coast  of  Africa.  The 
progress  of  these  discoveries  being  stopped  by  the  Senate 
of  Carthage,  those  who  happened  to  be  in  the  newly  dis¬ 
covered  countries,  cut  off  from  all  communication  with 
their  countrymen,  and  being  destitute  of  many  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  easily  fell  into  a  state  of  barbarism. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


15 


George  (le  Huron,  a  Dutch  writer  on  this  subject,  con¬ 
sidering  the  short  space  of  time  which  elapsed  between  the 
creation  of  the  world  and  the  deluge,  maintains  that 
America  could  not  have  been  peopled  before  the  Hood, 
lie  likewise  supposes  that  its  first  inhabitants  were  located 
in  the  north;  and  that  the  primitive  colonies  extended 
themselves  over  the  whole  extent  of  the  continent,  by 
means  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  It  is  his  opinion  that 
the  first  founders  of  these  Indian  colonies  were  Scythians; 
that  the  Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians  subsequently  got 
to  America  across  the  Atlantic,  and  the  Chinese  across  the 
Pacific  ocean,  and  that  other  nations  might  have  landed 
there  by  one  of  these  means,  or  been  thrown  on  the  coast 
by  tempest:  since  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  conti¬ 
nent,  both  in  its  northern  and  southern  parts  there  are 
evident  marks  of  a  mixture  of  the  northern  nations  with 
those  who  have  come  from  other  places. 

[15]  He  also  supposes  that  another  migration  of  the 
Phoenicians  took  place  during  a  three  years  voyage  made 
by  the  Tyrian  fleet  in  the  service  of  king  Solomon.  He 
asserts,  on  the  authority  of  Josephus,  that  the  port  at  which 
this  embarkation  was  made,  lay  in  the  Mediterranean.  The 
fleet,  he  adds,  went  in  quest  of  Elephants’  teeth  and  Pea¬ 
cocks,  to  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  which  is  Tarshish, 
then  for  gold  to  Ophir,  which  is  Haite  or  the  Island  of 
Hispaniola.  In  the  latter  opinion  he  is  supported  by  Co¬ 
lumbus,  who,  when  he  discovered  that  Island,  thought  he 
could  trace  the  furnaces  in  which  the  gold  had  been  re¬ 
fined. 

Monsieur  Charlevoix,  who  travelled  through  North 
America,  is  of  opinion  that  it  received  its  first  inhabitants 
from  Tartary  andHyrcania.  In  support  of  this  impression 
he  says  that  some  of  the  animals  which  are  to  be  found 

here,  must  have  come  from  those  countries :  a  fact  which 

• 

would  go  to  prove  that  the  two  hemispheres  join  to  the 
northward  of  Asia.  And  in  order  to  strengthen  this  con¬ 
jecture,  he  relates  the  following  story,  which  he  says  was 
told  to  him  by  Father  Grollon,  a  French  Jesuit,  as  matter 
-of  fact. 

Father  Grollon  said,  that  after  having  labored  some 


16 


Withers's  Chronicles 


time  in  the  missions  of  New  France,  he  passed  over  to 
China.  One  day  as  he  was  travelling  in  Tartary  he  met  a 
Huron  woman  whom  he  had  known  in  Canada.  He  asked 
her  by  what  adventure  she  had  been  carried  into  a  country 
so  very  remote  from  her  own ;  she  replied  that  having  been 
taken  in  war,  she  was  conducted  from  nation  to  nation, 
until  she  reached  the  place  where  she  then  was. 

Monsieur  Charlevoix  narrates  another  circumstance  of 
a  similar  kind.  He  says  that  he  had  been  assured,  another 
Jesuit  had  met  with  a  Floridian  woman  in  China.  She 
also  had  been  made  captive  by  certain  Indians,  who  gave 
her  to  those  of  a  more  distant  country,  and  by  these  again 
she  was  given  to  those  of  another  nation,  ’till  having  been 
successively  passed  from  country  to  country,  and  after  hav¬ 
ing  travelled  through  regions  extremely  cold,  she  at  length 
found  herself  in  Tartary.  Here  she  had  married  a  Tartar, 
who  had  attended  the  conquerors  in  China,  and  with  whom 
she  then  was. 

Arguing  from  these  facts  and  from  the  similarity  of 
several  kinds  of  wild  beasts  which  are  found  in  America, 
with  those  of  Hyrcania  and  Tartary,  he  arrives  at  what  he 
deems,  a  [16]  rational  conclusion,  that  more  than  one  na¬ 
tion  in  America  had  Scythian  or  Tartarian  extraction. 

Charlevoix  possessed  a  good  opportunity  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  character  and  habits  of  the  American 
Indians.  His  theory  however  has  been  controverted  by 
some,  possessing  equal  advantages  of  observation.  Mr. 
Adair,  an  intelligent  gentleman  who  resided  among  the 
nations  during  the  space  of  forty  years,  and  who  became 
well  acquainted  with  their  manners,  customs,  religion,  tra¬ 
ditions  and  language,  has  given  to  them  a  very  different 
origin.  But  perfect  soever  as  may  have  been  his  knowl¬ 
edge  of  their  manners,  customs,  religion  and  traditions, 
yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  any  inquiry  into  these,  with 
a  view  to  discover  their  origin,  would  most  probably  prove 
fallacious.  A  knowledge  of  the  primitive  language,  alone 
can  cast  much  light  on  the  subject.  Whether  this  knowl¬ 
edge  can  ever  be  attained,  is,  to  say  the  least,  very  ques¬ 
tionable — Being  an  unwritten  language,  and  subject  to.' 
change  for  so  many  centuries,  it  can  scarcely  be  supposed 


Of  Border  Warfare.  17 

now  to  bear  much,  if  any  affinity,  to  what  it  was  m  its 
purity. 

Mr.  Adair  says,  that  from  the  most  exact  observation 
he  could  make  during  the  long  time  which  he  traded 
among  the  Indians,  he  was  forced  to  believe  them  lineally 
descended  from  the  Israelites,  either  when  they  were  a 
maritime  power,  or  soon  after  the  general  captivity ;  most 
probably  the  latter. 

He  thinks  that  had  the  nine  tribes  and  a  half,  which 
were  carried  off  by  Shalmanezer,  king  of  Assyria,  and 
which  settled  in  Media,  remained  there  long,  they  would, 
by  intermarrying  with  the  nations  of  that  country,  from  a 
natural  fickleness  and  proneness  to  idolatry,  and  from  the 
force  of  example,  have  adopted  and  bowed  before  the  Gods 
of  the  Medes  and  Assyrians ;  and  have  carried  them  along 
with  them.  But  he  affirms  that  there  is  not  the  least  trace 
of  this  idolatry  to  be  discovered  among  the  Indians :  and 
hence  he  argues  that  those  of  the  ten  tribes  who  were  the 
forefathers  of  the  natives,  soon  advanced  eastward  from 
Assyria  and  reached  their  settlements  in  the  new  conti¬ 
nent,  before  the  destruction  of  the  first  Temple. 

In  support  of  the  position  that  the  American  Indians 
are  thus  descended,  Mr.  Adair  adduces  among  others  the 
following  arguments : 

Is*,  Their  division  into  tribes. 

“As  each  nation  has  its  particular  symbol,  so  each  tribe 
has  [17]  the  badge  from  which  it  is  denominated.  The 
Sachem  is  a  necessary  party  in  conveyances  and  treaties, 
to  which  he  affixes  the  mark  of  his  tribe.  If  we  go  from 
nation  to  nation  among  them,  we  shall  not  find  one,  who 
does  not  distinguish  himself  by  his  respective  family. 
The  genealogical  names  which  they  assume,  are  derived 
either  from  the  names  of  those  animals  whereof  the  cher¬ 
ubim  is  said  in  revelation  to  be  compounded ;  or  from  such 
creatures  as  are  most  similar  to  them.  The  Indians  bear 
no  religious  respect  to  the  animals  from  which  they  derive 
their  names ;  on  the  contrary  they  kill  them  whenever  an 
opportunity  serves. 

“When  we  consider  that  these  savages  have  been  up¬ 
wards  of  twenty  centuries  without  the  aid  of  letters  to 
2 


18 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


carry  down  their  traditions,  it  can  not  be  reasonably  ex¬ 
pected,  that  they  should  still  retain  the  identical  names  of 
their  primogenial  tribes:  their  main  customs  correspond¬ 
ing  with  those  of  the  Israelites,  sufficiently  clear  the  sub¬ 
ject.  Moreover  they  call  some  of  their  tribes  by  the 
names  of  the  cherubinical  figures,  which  were  carried  on 
the  four  principal  standards  of  Israel.” 

2nd,  Their  worship  of  Jehovah. 

“  By  a  strict,  permanent,  divine  precept,  the  Hebrew 
nation  was  ordered  to  worship  at  Jerusalem,  Jehovah  the 
true  and  living  God,  who  by  the  Indians  is  styled  4  Yohe- 
wah.’  The  seventy-two  interpreters  have  translated  this 
word  so  as  to  signify,  Sir,  Lord,  Master,  applying  to  mere 
earthly  potentates,  without  the  least  signification  or  rela¬ 
tion  to  that  great  and  awful  name,  which  describes  the 
divine  presence.” 

3rd,  Their  notions  of  a  theocracy. 

“Agreeably  to  the  theocracy  or  divine  government  of 
Israel,  the  Indians  think  the  deity  to  be  the  immediate 
head  of  the  state.  All  the  nations  of  Indians  have  a  great 
deal  of  religious  pride,  and  an  inexpressible  contempt  for 
the  white  people.  In  their  war  orations  they  used  to  call 
us  the  accursed  people,  but  flatter  themselves  with  the  name 
of  the  beloved  people,  because  their  supposed  ancestors 
were,  as  they  affirm,  under  the  immediate  government  of 
the  Deity,  who  was  present  with  them  in  a  peculiar  man¬ 
ner,  and  directed  them  by  Prophets,  while  the  rest  of  the 
world  were  aliens  to  the  covenant.1  When  the  old  Archi- 


1  In  a  small  work  entitled  “Ancient  History  of  the  Six  Nations/’ 
written  by  David  Cusick,  an  educated  Indian  of  the  Tuscarora  village, 
frequent  mention  is  made  of  the  actual  presence  among  them,  of 
Tarenyawagua,  or  Holder  of  the  Heavens,  who  guided  and  directed 
them  when  present,  and  left  rules  for  their  government,  during  his 
absence.  Several  miracles  performed  by  him  are  particularly  men¬ 
tioned.  It  likewise  speaks  of  the  occasional  visits  of  Angels  or  ‘agents 
of  the  Superior  power’  as  they  are  called  by  Cusick ;  and  tells  of  a  vis¬ 
itor  who  came  among  the  Tuscaroras  long  anterior  to  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus.  “He  appeared  to  be  a  very  old  man,  taught 
them  many  things,  and  informed  them  that  the  people  beyond  the  great 
water  had  killed  their  Maker,  but  that  he  rose  again.  The  old  man  died 
among  them  and  they  buried  him — soon  after  some  person  went  to  the 
grave  and  found  that  he  had  risen  ;  he  was  never  heard  of  afterwards.” 


19 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

magus,  or  any  of  their  Magi,  is  [18]  persuading  the  people  at 
their  religious  solemnities,  to  a  strict  observance  of  the  old 
beloved  or  divine  speech ,  he  always  calls  them  the  beloved  or 
holy  people,  agreeably  to  the  Hebrew  epithet,  Ammi,  (my 
people)  during  the  theocracy  of  Israel.  It  is  this  opinion, 
that  God  has  chosen  them  out  of  the  rest  of  mankind,  as 
his  peculiar  people,  which  inspires  the  white  Jew,  and  the 
red  American,  with  that  steady  hatred  against  all  the 
world  except  themselves,  and  renders  them  hated  and  de¬ 
spised  by  all.” 

5 th,  Their  language  and  dialects. 

“  The  Indian  language  and  dialects  appear  to  have  the 
very  idiom  and  genius  of  the  Hebrew.  Their  words  and 
sentences  are  expressive,  concise,  emphatical,  sonorous 
and  bold ;  and  often  both  the  letters  and  signification  are 
synonymous  with  the  Hebrew  language.”  Of  these  Mr. 
Adair  cites  a  number  of  examples. 

§th,  Their  manner  of  counting  time. 

“  The  Indians  count  time  after  the  manner  of  the  He¬ 
brews.  They  divide  the  year  into  spring,  summer,  autumn 
and  winter.  They  number  their  year  from  any  of  these 
four  periods,  for  they  have  no  name  for  a  year;  and  they 
subdivide  these  and  count  the  year  by  lunar  months,  like 
the  Israelites  who  counted  time  by  moons,  as  their  name 
sufficiently  testifies. 

“  The  number  and  regular  periods  of  the  religious  feasts 
among  the  Indians,  is  a  good  historical  proof  that  they 
counted  time  by  and  observed  a  weekly  Sabbath,  long 
after  their  arrival  in  America.  They  began  the  year  at 
the  appearance  of  the  first  new  moon  of  the  vernal  equi¬ 
nox,  according  to  the  ecclesiastical  year  of  Moses.  ’Till 
the  seventy  years  captivity  [19]  commenced,  the  Israelites 
had  only  numeral  names  for  their  months,  except  Abib 
and  Ethanim ;  the  former  signifying  a  green  ear  of  corn, 
the  latter  robust  or  valiant ;  by  the  first  name  the  Indians 
as  an  explicative,  term  their  passover,  which  the  trading 
people  call  the  green  corn  dance.” 

7 th.  Their  prophets  or  high  priests. 

“In  conformity  to,  or  after  the  manner  of  the  Jews,  the 
Indians  have  their  prophets,  high  priests,  and  others  of  a 


20 


Withers's  Chronicles 


religious  order.  As  the  Jews  have  a  Sanctum  Sanctorum, 
so  have  all  the  Indian  nations.  There  they  deposit  their  con¬ 
secrated  vessels — none  of  the  laity  daring  to  approach  that 
sacred  place.  The  Indian  tradition  says,  that  their  fore¬ 
fathers  were  possessed  of  an  extraordinary  divine  spirit  by 
which  they  foretold  future  events  ;  and  that  this  was  trans¬ 
mitted  to  their  offspring,  provided  they  obeyed  the  sacred 
laws  annexed  to  it.1  [20]  Ishtoallo  is  the  name  of  all  their 

1  In  confirmation  of  this  tradition  among  the  Indians,  the  following 
somewhat  singular  circumstance  related  by  Mr.  Carver,  may  with  pro¬ 
priety  be  adduced : 

While  at  Grand  Portage,  from  the  number  of  those  who  were 
there  and  the  fact  that  the  traders  did  not  arrive  as  soon  as  was  ex¬ 
pected,  there  was  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  much  consequent 
anxiety  as  to  the  period  of  their  arrival.  One  day,  Mr.  Carver  says, 
that  while  expressing  their  wishes  for  the  event,  and  looking  anxiously 
to  ascertain  if  they  could  be  seen  on  the  Lake,  the  chief  Priest  of  the 
Kilistines  told  them  that  he  would  endeavor  in  a  conference  with  the 
Great  Spirit,  to  learn  at  what  time  the  traders  would  arrive :  and  the 
following  evening  was  fixed  upon  for  the  spiritual  conference. 

When  every  preparation  had  been  made,  the  king  conducted  Mr. 
Carver  to  a  spacious  tent,  the  covering  of  which  was  so  drawn  up  as  to 
render  visible  to  those  without,  every  thing  wiiich  passed  within.  Mr. 
Carver  being  seated  beside  the  king  within  the  tent,  observed  in  the 
centre  a  place  of  an  obloDg  shape,  composed  of  stakes  stuck  at  intervals  in 
the  ground,  forming  something  like  a  coffin,  and  large  enough  to  contain 
the  body  of  a  man.  The  sticks  were  far  enough  from  each  other  to  ad¬ 
mit  a  distinct  view  by  the  spectators,  of  what  ever  passed  within  them ; 
while  the  tent  was  perfectly  illuminated. 

When  the  Priest  entered,  a  large  Elk-skin  being  spread  on  the 
ground,  he  divested  himself  of  all  his  clothing,  except  that  around  his 
middle,  and  laying  down  on  the  skin  enveloped  himself  (save  only  his 
head)  in  it.  The  skin  was  then  bound  round  with  about  forty  yards 
of  cord,  and  in  that  situation  he  was  placed  within  the  ballustrade  of 
sticks. 

In  a  few  seconds  he  was  heard  to  mutter,  but  his  voice,  gradually 
assuming  a  higher  tone,  was  at  length  extended  to  its  utmost  pitch, 
and  sometimes  praying,  he  worked  himself  into  such  an  agitation  as 
to  produce  a  foaming  at  the  mouth.  To  this  succeeded  a  speechless 
state  of  exhaustion,  of  short  duration ;  when  suddenly  springing  on 
his  feet,  and  shaking  off  the  skin,  as  easily  as  if  the  bands  with 
which  it  had  been  lashed  around  him,  were  burned  asunder,  he  ad¬ 
dressed  the  company  in  a  firm  and  audible  voice :  “  My  Brothers, 
said  he,  the  Great  Spirit  has  deigned  to  hold  a  talk  with  his  servant. 
He  has  not  indeed  told  me  when  the  traders  will  be  here ;  but  to¬ 
morrow  when  the  sun  reaches  the  highest  point  in  the  heavens,  a  canoe 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


21 


priestly  order  and  their  pontifical  office  descends  by  in¬ 
heritance  to  the  eldest.  There  are  traces  of  agreement, 
though  chiefly  lost,  in  their  pontifical  dress.  Before  the 
Indian  Archimagus  officiates  in  making  the  supposed 
holy  fire  for  the  yearly  atonement  of  sin,  the  Sagan 
clothes  him  with  a  white  ephod,  which  is  a  waistcoat  with¬ 
out  sleeves.  In  resemblance  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim 
the  American  Archimagus  wears  a  breastplate  made  of  a 
white  conch-shell,  with  two  holes  bored  in  the  middle  of  it, 
through  which  he  puts  the  ends  of  an  otter-skin  strap  ; 
and  fastens  a  buck-horn  white  button  to  the  outside  of 
each  ;  as  if  in  imitation  of  the  precious  stones  of  the 
Urim.” 

In  remarking  upon  this  statement  of  Mr.  Adair,  Faber, 
a  learned  divine  of  the  church  of  England,  has  said,  that 
Ishtoallo  (the  name  according  to  Adair  of  the  Indian 
priests)  is  most  probably  a  corruption  of  Ish-da-Eloah ,  a  man 
of  God,  (the  term  used  by  the  Shunemitish  woman  in 
speaking  of  Elisha ;)  and  that  Sagan  is  the  very  name  by 
which  the  Hebrews  called  the  deputy  of  the  High  Priest, 
who  supplied  his  office  and  who  performed  the  functions  of 
it  in  the  absence  of  the  high  priest,  or  when  any  accident 
had  disabled  him  from  officiating  in  person. 

8th,  Their  festivals ,  fasts  and  religious  rites. 

“  The  ceremonies  of  the  Indians  in  their  religious  wor¬ 
ship,  [21]  are  more  after  the  Mosaic  institution,  than  of 
Pagan  imitation.  This  could  not  be  the  fact  if  a  majority 
of  the  old  nations  were  of  heathenish  descent.  They  are 
utter  strangers  to  all  the  gestures  practiced  by  Pagans  in 
their  religious  rites.  They  have  likewise  an  appellative, 
which  with  them  is  the  mysterious,  essential  name  of 
God;  the  tetragrammaton,  which  they  never  use  in  common 

will  arrive,  the  people  in  that  canoe  will  inform  us  when  the  traders 
will  arrive.” 

Mr.  Carver  adds  that  on  the  next  day  at  noon  a  canoe  was  descried 
on  the  lake  at  the  distance  of  about  three  miles, — completely  verifying 
the  prediction  of  the  High  Priest,  in  point  of  time.  From  the  people 
on  board  this  canoe  they  learned  that  the  traders  would  be  at  the  por¬ 
tage  on  the  second  day  thereafter,  at  which  time  they  actually  did 


arrive. 


22 


Withers's  Chronicles 


speech.  They  are  very  particular  of  the  time  and  place, 
when  and  where  they  mention  it,  and  this  is  always  done 
in  a  very  solemn  manner.  It  is  known  that  the  Jews  had 
so  great  and  sacred  regard  for  the  four  lettered,  divine 
name,  as  scarcely  ever  to  mention  it,  except  when  the  High 
Priest  went  into  the  sanctuary  for  the  expiation  of  sins.” 

Mr.  Adair  likewise  says  that  the  American  Indians, 
like  the  Hebrews,  have  an  ark  in  which  are  kept  various 
holy  vessels,  and  which  is  never  suffered  to  rest  on  the  bare 
ground.  “  On  hilly  ground,  where  stones  are  plenty,  they 
always  place  it  on  them,  but  on  level  land  it  is  made  to 
rest  on  short  legs.  They  have  also  a  faith,  in  the  power 
and  holiness  of  their  ark,  as  strong  as  the  Israelites  had  in 
theirs.  It  is  too  sacred  and  dangerous  to  be  touched  by 
any  one,  except  the  chieftain  and  his  waiter.  The  leader 
virtually  acts  the  part  of  a  priest  of  war  protempore,  in 
imitation  of  the  Israelites  fighting  under  the  divine  mili¬ 
tary  banner.” 

Among  their  other  religious  rites  the  Indians,  accord¬ 
ing  to  Adair,  cut  out  the  sinewy  part  of  the  thigh ;  in 
commemoration,  as  he  says,  of  the  Angel  wrestling  with 
Jacob. 

12th,  Their  abstinence  from  unclean  things. 

“  Eagles  of  every  kind  are  esteemed  by  the  Indians  to 
be  unclean  food ;  as  also  ravens,  crows,  bats,  buzzards  and 
every  species  of  owl.  They  believe  that  swallowing  gnats, 
flies  and  the  like,  always  breed  sickness.  To  this  that  di¬ 
vine  sarcasm  alludes  ‘swallowing  a  camel  and  straining  at 
a  gnat.’  ”  Their  purifications  for  their  Priests,  and  for  hav¬ 
ing  touched  a  dead  body  or  other  unclean  thing,  according 
to  Mr.  Adair,  are  quite  Levitical.  He  acknowledges  how¬ 
ever,  that  they  have  no  traces  of  circumcision ;  but  he 
supposes  that  they  lost  this  rite  in  their  wanderings,  as  it 
ceased  among  the  Hebrews,  during  the  forty  years  in  the 
wilderness. 

15^A,  Their  cities  of  refuge. 

“  The  Israelites  had  cities  of  refuge  for  those  who 
killed  persons  unawares.  According  to  the  same  particu¬ 
lar  divine  [22]  law  of  mercy,  each  of  the  Indian  nations  has 
a  house  or  town  of  refuge,  which  is  a  sure  asylum  to  protect 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


23 


a  man-slayer,  or  the  unfortunate  captive,  if  they  can  but 
once  enter  into  it.  In  almost  every  nation  they  have 
peaceable  towns,  called  ancient  holy,  or  white  towns. 
These  seem  to  have  been  towns  of  refuge ;  for  it  is  not  in 
the  memory  of  man,  that  ever  human  blood  was  shed  in 
them,  although  they  often  force  persons  from  thence  and 
put  them  to  death  elsewhere.” 

16th,  Their  'purifications  and  ceremonies  preparatory. 

“  Before  the  Indians  go  to  war  they  have  many  pre¬ 
paratory  ceremonies  of  purification  and  fasting  like  what 
is  recorded  of  the  Israelites.” 

21st,  Their  raising  seed  to  a  deceased  brother. 

“  The  surviving  brother,  by  the  Mosaic  law,  was  to 
raise  seed  to  a  deceased  brother,  who  left  a  widow  child¬ 
less.  The  Indian  custom  looks  the  very  same  way ;  but 
in  this  as  in  their  law  of  blood,  the  eldest  brother  can  re¬ 
deem. ’’ 

With  these  and  many  arguments  of  a  like  kind,  has 
Mr.  Adair  endeavored  to  support  the  conjecture,  that  the 
American  Indians  are  lineally  descended  from  the  Israel¬ 
ites;  and  gravely  asks  of  those  who  may  dissent  from  his 
opinion  of  their  origin  and  descent,  to  inform  him  how 
they  came  here,  and  by  what  means  they  formed  the  long 
chain  of  rites  and  customs  so  similar  to  those  of  the  He¬ 
brews,  and  dissimilar  to  the  rites  and  customs  of  the  pagan 
world. 

Major  Carver,  a  provincial  officer  who  sojourned  some 
time  with  the  Indians  and  visited  twelve  different  nations 
of  them,  instead  of  observing  the  great  similarity,  men¬ 
tioned  by  Adair  as  existing  between  the  natives  and  He¬ 
brews.,  thought  he  could  trace  features  of  resemblance  be¬ 
tween  them  and  the  Chinese  and  Tartars;  and  has  under¬ 
taken  to  shew  how  they  might  have  got  here.  He  says, 

“Although  it  is  not  ascertained  certainly,  that  the  con¬ 
tinents  of  Asia  and  America  join  each  other,  yet  it  is  proven 
that  the  sea  which  is  supposed  to  divide  them,  is  full  of 
islands  the  distance  from  which  to  either  continent,  is  com¬ 
paratively  trifling.  From  these  islands  a  communication 
with  the  main  land  could  be  more  readily  effected  than 
from  any  other  point.”  “  It  is  very  evident  that  the  man- 


24 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


ners  and  customs  of  the  American  Indians,  resemble  that 
of  the  Tartars;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  some  future 
era,  it  will  be  reduced  to  a  certainty  that  in  some  of  the 
wars  between  the  Chinese  and  Tartars,  a  part  [23]  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  northern  provinces  were  driven  from 
their  country  and  took  refuge  in  some  of  these  islands, 
and  from  thence  found  their  way  to  America.  At  differ¬ 
ent  periods  each  nation  might  prove  victorious,  and  the 
conquered  by  turns  fly  before  the  conquerors ;  and  hence 
might  arise  the  similitude  of  the  Indians  to  all  these  peo¬ 
ple,  and  that  animosity  which  exists  among  so  many  of 
their  tribes.” 

After  remarking  on  the  similarity  which  exists  be¬ 
tween  the  Chinese  and  Indians,  in  the  singular  custom  of 
shaving  or  plucking  out  the  hair  leaving  only  a  small  spot 
on  the  crown  of  the  head ;  and  the  resemblance  in  sound 
and  signification  which  many  of  the  Chinese  and  Indian 
words  bear  to  each  other,  he  proceeds,  “After  the  most 
critical  inquiry  and  mature  deliberation,  I  am  of  opinion 
that  America  received  its  first  inhabitants  from  the  north¬ 
east,  by  way  of  the  islands  mentioned  as  lying  between 
Asia  and  America.  This  might  have  been  effected  at  dif¬ 
ferent  times  and  from  different  parts :  from  Tartary, 
China,  Japan  or  Kamschatka,  the  inhabitants  of  these 
countries  resembling  each  other,  in  color,  feature  and 
shape.” 

Other  writers  on  this  subject,  coinciding  in  opinion 
with  Carver,  mention  a  tradition  which  the  Indians  in 
Canada  have,  that  foreign  merchants  clothed  in  silk 
formerly  visited  them  in  great  ships  :  these  are  supposed 
to  have  been  Chinese,  the  ruins  of  Chinese  ships  having 
been  found  on  the  American  coast.  The  names  of  many 
of  the  American  kings,  are  said  to  be  Tartar ;  and  Tar- 
tarax,  who  reigned  formerly  in  Quivira,  means  the  Tartar. 
Manew,  the  founder  of  the  Peruvian  empire,  most  prob¬ 
ably  came  from  the  Manchew  Tartars.  Montezuma,  the 
title  of  the  emperors  of  Mexico,  is  of  Japanese  extrac¬ 
tion ;  for  according  to  some  authors  it  is  likewise  the  ap¬ 
pellation  of  the  Japanese  Monarch.  The  plant  Ginseng, 
since  found  in  America,  where  the  natives  termed  it 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


25 


Garentoguen,  a  word  of  the  same  import  in  their  lan¬ 
guage,  with  Ginseng  in  the  Tartar,  both  meaning  the 

.THIGHS  OF  A  MAN. 

Dr.  Robertson  is  decidedly  of  opinion,  that  the  differ¬ 
ent  tribes  of  American  Indians,  excepting  the  Esquimaux, 
are  of  Asiatic  extraction.  He  refers  to  a  tradition  among 
the  Mexicans  of  the  migration  of  their  ancestors  from  a 
remote  country,  situated  to  the  north-west  of  Mexico,  and 
says  they  point  out  their  various  stations  as  they  advanced 
into  the  interior  provinces,  which  is  precisely  the  route 
they  must  have  held,  if  they  had  been  emigrants  from 
.Asia. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  notes  on  Virginia,  says,  that  the 
passage  from  Europe  to  America  was  always  practicable, 
even  to  the  imperfect  [24]  navigation  of  the  ancient  times; 
and  that,  from  recent  discoveries,  it  is  proven,  that  if  Asia  and 
America  be  separated  at  all  it  is  only  by  a  narrow  streight. 
u  Judging  from  the  resemblance  between  the  Indians  of 
America  and  the  eastern  inhabitants  of  Asia,  wTe  should 
say  that  the  former  are  descendants  of  the  latter,  or  the 
latter  of  the  former,  except  indeed  the  Esquimaux,  who, 
from  the  same  circumstance  of  resemblance,  and  from 
identity  of  language,  must  be  derived  from  the  Green¬ 
landers.  A  knowledge  of  their  several  languages  would 
be  the  most  certain  evidence  of  their  derivation  which 
could  be  produced.  In  fact  it  is  the  best  proof  of  the 
affinity  of  nations,  which  ever  can  be  referred  to.” 

After  regretting  that  so  many  of  the  Indian  tribes 
have  been  suffered  to  perish,  without  our  having  collected 
and  preserved  the  general  rudiments  of  their  language,  he 
proceeds, 

“  Imperfect  as  is  our  knowledge  of  the  tongues  spoken 
in  America,  it  suffices  to  discover  the  following  remark¬ 
able  fact.  Arranging  them  under  the  radical  ones  to 
which  they  may  he  palpably  traced,  and  doing  the  same 
by  those  of  the  red  men  of  Asia,  there  will  he  found  prob¬ 
ably  twenty  in  America,  for  one  in  Asia,  of  those  radical 
languages;  so  called  because  if  ever  they  were  the  same, 
they  have  lost  all  resemblance  to  one  another.  A  separa¬ 
tion  into  dialects  may  be  the  work  of  a  few  age3  only,  but 


26 


Withers's  Chronicles 


for  two  dialects  to  recede  from  one  another,  "till  they  have 
lost  all  vestiges  of  their  common  origin,  must  require  an 
immense  course  of  time ;  perhaps  not  less  than  many  peo¬ 
ple  give  to  the  age  of  the  earth.  A  greater  number  of 
those  radical  changes  of  language  having  taken  place 
among  the  red  men  of  America  proves  them  of  greater  an¬ 
tiquity  than  those  of  Asia. 

Indian  traditions  say,  that  “  in  ancient  days  the  Great 
Island  appeared  upon  the  big  waters,  the  earth  brought 
forth  trees,  herbs  and  fruits:  that  there  were  in  the  world 
a  good  and  a  bad  spirit,  the  good  spirit  formed  creeks  and 
rivers  on  the  great  island,  and  created  numerous  species 
of  animals  to  inhabit  the  forests,  and  fishes  of  all  kinds  to 
inhabit  the  water.  He  also  made  two  beings  to  whom  he 
gave  living  souls  and  named  them  Ea-gwe-howe,  (real 
people).  Subsequently  some  of  the  people  became  giants 
and  committed  outrages  upon  the  others.  After  many 
years  a  body  of  Ea-gwe-howe  people  encamped  on  the 
bank  of  a  majestic  stream,  which  they  named,  Kanawaga 
(St.  Lawrence.)  After  a  long  time  a  number  of  foreign 
people  sailed  from  a  part  unknown,  but  unfortunately  the 
winds  drove  them  off  and  they  ultimately  landed  on  the 
southern  part  of  the  great  island  and  many  of  the  crew 
perished.  Those  who  survived,  selected  a  place  for  resi¬ 
dence,  erected  fortifications,  became  a  numerous  people 
and  extended  their  settlements.”1 

Thus  various  and  discordant  are  the  conjectures  re¬ 
specting  the  manner  in  which  this  continent  was  first 
peopled.  Although  some  [25]  of  them  appear  more 
rational  and  others,  yet  are  they  at  best  but  hypothetical 
disquisitions  on  a  subject  which  will  not  now  admit  of 
certainty.  All  agree  that  America  was  inhabited  long  an¬ 
terior  to  its  discovery  by  Columbus,  and  by  a  race  of  hu¬ 
man  beings,  who,  however  numerous  they  once  were,  are 
fast  hastening  to  extinction;  some  centuries  hence  and 
they  will  be  no  more  known.  The  few  memorials,  which 
the  ravages  of  time  have  suffered  to  remain  of  them,  in 
those  portions  of  the  country  from  which  they  have  been 


1  Indian  traditions  by  Cusick. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


long  expelled;  have  destruction  dealt  them  by  the  ruthless 
hand  of  man.  History  may  transmit  to  after  ages,  the 
fact  that  they  once  were,  and  give  their  “  local  habitation 
and  their  name.”  These  will  probably  be  received  as  the 
tales  of  fiction,  and  posterity  be  at  as  much  loss  to  deter¬ 
mine,  whether  they  ever  had  an  existence,  as  we  now  are 
to  say  from  whence  they  sprang. 

“  I  have  stood  upon  Achilles’  tomb 

And  heard  Troy  doubted.  Time  will  doubt  of  Rome.” 


28 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


INTRODUCTION'. 

Chapter  III. 

The  aborigines  of  America,  although  divided  into 
many  different  tribes,  inhabiting  various  climates, and  with¬ 
out  a  community  of  language,  are  yet  assimilated  to  each 
other  in  stature  and  complexion,  more  strikingly  than  are 
the  inhabitants  of  the  different  countries  of  Europe.  The 
manners  and  customs  of  one  nation,  are  very  much  the 
manners  and  customs  of  all ;  and  although  there  be  pecu¬ 
liarities  observable  among  all,  yet  are  they  fewer  and  less 
manifest  than  those  which  mark  the  nations  of  the  old 
world,  and  distinguish  them  so  palpably  from  each  other. 
A  traveller  might  have  traversed  the  country,  when  occu¬ 
pied  exclusively  by  the  natives,  without  remarking  among 
them,  the  diversity  which  exists  in  Europe;  or  being  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  contrast  which  a  visit  across  the  Pyrennes 
would  exhibit,  between  the  affability  and  vivacity  of  a 
Erenchman  at  a  theatre  or  in  the  Elysian  fields,  and  the 
hauteur  and  reserve  of  a  Spaniard  at  their  bloody  circus, 
when  “  bounds  with  one  lashing  spring  the  mighty  brute.” 

[26]  Nor  is  there  much  in  savage  life,  calculated  to 
inspire  the  mind  of  civilized  man,  with  pleasurable  sensa¬ 
tions.  Many  of  the  virtues  practised  by  them,  proceed 
rather  from  necessity  or  ignorance  than  from  any  ethical 
principle  existing  among  them.  The  calm  composure  with 
which  they  meet  death  and  their  stoical  indifference  to 
bodily  pain,  are  perhaps  more  attributable  to  recklessness 
of  life  and  physical  insensibility,1  than  to  fortitude  or 
magnanimity ;  consequently  they  do  not  much  heighten 
the  zest  of  reflection,  in  contemplating  their  character. 
The  Christian  and  the  philanthropist,  with  the  benevolent 

1  It  is  said  that  the  nerves  of  an  Indian  do  not  shrink  as  much,  nor 
shew  the  same  tendency  to  spasm,  under  the  knife  of  the  surgeon,  as 
the  nerves  of  a  white  man  in  a  similar  situation. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


29 


design  of  improving  their  morals  and  meliorating  their 
condition,  may  profitably  study  every  peculiarity  and  trait 
of  character  observable  among  them ;  it  will  facilitate  their 
object  and  enable  them  the  more  readily  to  reclaim  them 
from  a  life  of  heathenish  barbarity,  and  to  extend  to  them 
the  high  boons  of  civilization  and  Christianity. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  different  tribes  of  natives 
of  North  America,  resemble  each  other  very  much  in  stat¬ 
ure  and  complexion,  in  manners  and  customs ;  a  general 
description  of  these  will  therefor  be  sufficient. 

The  stature  of  an  Indian,  is  generally  that  of  the  me¬ 
dial  stature  of  the  Anglo  Americans ;  the  Osages  are  said 
to  form  an  exception  to  this  rule,  being  somewhat  taller. 
They  are  almost  universally  straight  and  well  proportioned; 
their  limbs  are  clean,  but  less  muscular  than  those  of  the 
whites,  and  their  whole  appearance  strongly  indicative  of 
effeminacy.  In  walking,  they  invariable  place  one  foot  di¬ 
rectly  before  the  other — the  toes  never  verging  from  a 
right  line  with  the  heel.  When  traveling  in  companies, 
their  manner  of  marching  is  so  peculiar  as  to  have  given 
rise  to  the  expression,  “  Indian  file;”  and  while  proceeding 
in  this  way,  each  carefully  places  his  foot  in  the  vestige  of 
the  foremost  of  the  party,  so  as  to  leave  the  impression 
of  the  footsteps  of  but  one.  They  have  likewise  in  their 
gait  and  carriage  something  so  entirely  different  from  the 
gait  and  carriage  of  the  whites,  as  to  enable  a  person  to 
pronounce  on  one  at  a  considerable  distance.  The  hair  of 
an  Indian  is  also  strikingly  different  from  that  of  the 
whites.  It  is  always  black  and  straight,  hangs  loose  and 
looks  as  if  it  were  [27]  oiled.  There  is  a  considerable  re¬ 
semblance  in  appearance,  between  it  and  the  glossy  black 
mane  of  a  thoroughbred  horse;  though  its  texture  is  finer. 

In  the  squaws  there  exist,  the  same  delicacy  of  pro¬ 
portion,  the  same  effeminacy  of  person,  the  same  slender¬ 
ness  of  hand  and  foot,  which  characterise  the  female  of 
refined  society ;  in  despite  too  of  the  fact,  that  every 
laborious  duty  and  every  species  of  drudgery,  are  imposed 
on  them  from  childhood.  Their  faces  are  broad,  and  be¬ 
tween  the  eyes  they  are  exceedingly  wide;  their  cheek 
bones  are  high  and  the  eyes  black  in  both  sexes — the  noses 


30 


Withers's  Chronicles 


of  the  women  inclining  generally  to  the  flat  nose  of  the 
African  ;  while  those  of  the  men  are  more  frequently  aqui¬ 
line  than  otherwise. 

Instances  of  decrepitude  and  deformity,  are  rarely 
known  to  exist  among  them :  this  is  probably  owing  to 
the  manner  in  which  they  are  tended  and  nursed  in  infancy. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  the  mother  should,  as  has  been 
supposed,  he  guilty  of  the  unnatural  crime  of  murdering 
her  decrepid  or  deformed  offspring — the  hardships  they 
encounter  are  too  great  to  he  endured  by  infants  not  pos¬ 
sessed  of  natural  vigor,  and  they  sink  beneath  them. 

Their  countenances  are  for  the  most  inflexible,  stern 
and  immovable.  The  passions  which  agitate  or  distract 
the  mind,  never  alter  its  expression,  nor  do  the  highest 
ecstacies  of  which  their  nature  is  susceptible,  ever  relax  its 
rigidity.  With  the  same  imperturbability  of  feature,  they 
encounter  death  from  the  hand  of  an  enemy,  and  receive 
the  greetings  of  a  friend. 

In  their  intercourse  with  others,  they  seem  alike  in¬ 
sensible  to  emotions  of  pleasure  and  of  pain ;  and  rarely 
give  vent  to  feelings  of  either.  The  most  ludicrous  scenes 
scarcely  ever  cause  them  to  laugh,  or  the  most  interesting 
recitals  draw  from  them  more  than  their  peculiar  monosyl¬ 
labic  expression  of  admiration. 

In  conversation  they  are  modest  and  unassuming;  in¬ 
deed  taciturnity  is  as  much  a  distinguishing  trait  of  Indian 
character,  as  it  ever  was  of  the  Roman.  In  their  councils 
and  public  meetings,  they  never  manifest  an  impatience  to 
he  heard,  or  a  restlessness  under  observations,  either  grat¬ 
ing  to  personal  feeling  or  opposite  to  their  individual  ideas 
of  propriety :  on  the  contrary  they  are  still,  silent  and  at¬ 
tentive;  and  each  is  heard  with  the  respect  due  to  his 
years,  his  wisdom,  his  experience,  or  the  fame  which  his 
exploits  may  have  acquired  him.  [28]  A  loud  and  garru¬ 
lous  Indian  is  received  by  the  others  with  contempt,  and  a 
cowardly  disposition  invariably  attributed  to  him — 

“  Bold  at  the  council  board, 

But  in  the  field  he  shuns  the  sword,” 

is  as  much  and  truly  an  apothegm  with  them  as  with  us. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


31 


Their  taciturnity  and  irrisibility  however,  are  confined 
to  their  sober  hours.  When  indulging  their  insatiate  thirst 
for  spirit,  they  are  boisterous  and  rude,  and  by  their  ob¬ 
streperous  laughter,  their  demoniacal  shrieks  and  turbu¬ 
lent  vociferations,  produce  an  appalling  discord,  such  as 
might  well  be  expected  to  proceed  from  a  company  of  in¬ 
fernal  spirits  at  their  fiendish  revels  ;  and  exhibit  a  strik¬ 
ing  contrast  to  the  low,  monotonous  tones  used  by  them 
at  other  times. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Indians  are  the  most 
lazy,  indolent  race  of  human  beings.  No  attempt  which 
has  ever  been  made  to  convert  them  into  slaves,  has 
availed  much.  The  rigid  discipline  of  a  Spanish  master, 
has  failed  to  overcome  that  inertness,  from  which  an  In¬ 
dian  is  roused  only  by  war  and  the  chase — Engaged  in 
these,  he  exhibits  as  much  activity  and  perseverance,  as 
could  be  displayed  by  any  one  ;  and  to  gratify  his  fondness 
for  them,  will  encounter  toils  and  privations,  from  which 
others  would  shrink.  His  very  form  indicates  at  once,  an 
aptitude  for  that  species  of  exercise  which  war  and  hunting 
call  into  action,  and  an  unfitness  for  the  laborious  drudg¬ 
ery  of  husbandry  and  many  of  the  mechanic  arts.  Could 
they  have  been  converted  into  profitable  slaves,  it  is  more 
than  probable  we  should  never  have  been  told,  that  “the 
hand  of  providence  was  visible  in  the  surprising  instances 
of  mortality  among  the  Indians,  to  make  room  for  the 
whites.” 

In  their  moral  character  many  things  appear  of  a  na¬ 
ture,  either  so  monstrous  as  to  shock  humanity,  or  so 
absurd  as  to  excite  derision ;  yet  they  have  some  redeem¬ 
ing  qualities  which  must  elicit  commendation.  And  while 
we  view  with  satisfaction  those  bright  spots,  shining  more 
brilliantly  from  the  gloom  which  surrounds  them,  their 
want  of  learning  and  the  absence  of  every  opportunity  for 
refinement,  should  plead  in  extenuation  of  their  failings 
and  their  vices.  Some  of  the  most  flagrant  of  these,  if 
not  encouraged,  have  at  least  been  sanctioned  by  the 
whites.  In  the  war  between  the  New  England  colonies 
and  the  Narragansetts,  it  was  the  misfortune  of  the  brave 
Philip,  after  having  witnessed  the  destruction  of  the 


32 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


"29]  greater  part  of  his  nation,  to  be  himself  slain  by  a  Mo- 
lican.  After  his  head  had  been  taken  off,  Oneco,  chief  of 
the  Mohicans,  then  in  alliance  with  the  colonists,  claimed 
that  he  had  a  right  to  feast  himself  on  the  body  of  his 
fallen  adversary.  The  whites  did  not  object  to  this,  but 
composedly  looked  on  Oneco,  broiling  and  eating  the  flesh 
of  Philip — and  yet  cannibalism  was  one  of  their  most  sav¬ 
age  traits  of  character. 

This  was  a  general,  if  not  an  universal  custom  among 
the  Indians,  when  America  became  known  to  the  whites. 
Whether  it  has  yet  entirely  ceased  is  really  to  be  doubted : 
some  of  those  who  have  been  long  intimate  with  them, 
affirm  that  it  has  not ;  though  it  is  far  from  being  prev¬ 
alent. 

The  Indians  are  now  said  to  be  irritable ;  but  when  Eu¬ 
ropeans  first  settled  among  them,  they  were  not  more  iras¬ 
cible  than  their  new  neighbors.  In  their  anger  however, 
they  differ  very  much  from  the  whites.  They  are  not  talk¬ 
ative  and  boisterous  as  these  are,  but  silent,  sullen  and  re¬ 
vengeful.  If  an  injury  be  done  them,  they  never  forget, 
they  never  forgive  it.  Nothing  can  be  more  implacable 
than  their  resentment — no  time  can  allay  it — no  change 
of  circumstances  unfix  its  purpose.  Revenge  is  to  them 
as  exhilarating,  as  the  cool  draught  from  the  fountain,  to 
the  parched  and  fevered  lips  of  a  dying  man. 

When  taking  vengeance  of  an  enemy,  there  is  no 
cruelty  which  can  be  exercised,  no  species  of  torture, 
which  their  ingenuity  can  devise,  too  severe  to  be  inflicted. 
To  those  who  have  excited  a  spirit  of  resentment  in  the 
bosom  of  an  Indian,  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife 
are  instruments  of  mercy.  Death  by  the  faggot — by 
splinters  of  the  most  combustible  wood,  stuck  in  the  flesh 
and  fired — maiming  and  disemboweling,  tortures  on  which 
the  soul  sickens  but  to  reflect,  are  frequently  practiced. 
To  an  enemy  of  their  own  color,  they  are  perhaps  more 
cruel  and  severe,  than  to  the  whites.  In  requiting  upon 
him,  every  refinement  of  torture  is  put  in  requisition,  to 
draw  forth  a  sigh  or  a  groan,  or  cause  him  to  betray 
some  symptom  of  human  sensibility.  This  they  never 
.effect.  An  Indian  neither  shrinks  from  a  knife,  nor 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


33 


winces  at  the  stake ;  on  the  contrary  he  seems  to  exult 
in  his  agony,  and  will  mock  his  tormentors  for  the  leniency 

and  mildness  of  their  torture.1 * 3 

* 

[30]  Drinking  and  gambling  are  vices,  to  which  the 
Indians,  as  well  as  the  whites,  are  much  addicted.  Such 
is  their  fondness  for  spirit  of  any  kind  that  they  are  rarely 
known  to  be  sober,  when  they  have  it  in  their  power  to 
be  otherwise.  Neither  a  sense  of  honor  or  of  shame  has 
been  able  to  overcome  their  propensity  for  its  use ;  and 
when  drunk,  the  ties  of  race,  of  friendship  and  of  kindred 
are  too  weak,  to  bind  their  ferocious  tempers. 

In  gambling  they  manifest  the  same  anxiety,  which 
we  see  displayed  at  the  card  table  of  the  whites.  The 
great  difference  seems  to  be,  that  we  depend  too  frequently 
on  sleight  and  dexterity;  whereas  while  they  are  shaking 
their  gourd  neck  of  half  whited  plumbstones,  they  only 
use  certain  tricks  of  conjuration,  which  in  their  simplicity 
they  believe  will  ensure  them  success.  To  this  method  of 
attaining  an  object,  they  have  frequent  recourse.  Super¬ 
stition  is  the  concomitant  of  ignorance.  The  most  en¬ 
lightened,  are  rarety  altogether  exempt  from  its  influ¬ 
ence — with  the  uninformed  it  is  a  master  passion,  swaying 
and  directing  the  mind  in  all  its  operations. 

In  their  domestic  economy,  Indians  are,  in  some  re¬ 
spects,  like  the  rude  of  all  countries.  They  manifest  but 
little  respect  for  the  female ;  imposing  on  her  not  only  the 

1  A  Narraganset,  made  prisoner  by  Maj.  Talcott  in  1679,  begged  to 
be  delivered  to  the  Mohicans  that  he  might  be  put  to  death  in  their 
own  way.  The  New  Englanders  complying  with  his  request,  prepa¬ 
rations  were  made  for  the  tragical  event.  “  The  Mohicans,  formed  a 
circle,  and  admitting  within  it  as  many  of  the  whites  as  chose  to  witness 
their  proceedings,  placed  the  prisonerin  the  centre.  One  of  the  Mohicans, 
wdio  had  lost  a  son  in  the  late  engagement,  wTith  a  knife  cut  off  the 

prisoner’s  ears!  then  his  nose!  and  then  the  fingers  off  each  hand! 
after  the  lapse  of  a  few  moments,  his  eyes  were  dug  out,  and  their 
sockets  filled  with  hot  embers  ! !  All  this  time  the  prisoner  instead 
of  bewailing  his  fate,  seemed  to  surpass  his  tormentors  in  expressions  of 
joy.  At  length  when  exhausted  with  loss  of  blood  and  unable  to  stand, 
his  executioner  closed  the  tragic  scene  by  beating  out  his  brains  with  a 
tomahawk.” — Indian  Wars,  by  Trumbull.. 

3 


34 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


duties  of  the  hut,  but  also  the  more  laborious  operations 
of  husbandry;  and  observing  towards  them  the  hauteur 
and  distance  of  superior  beings. 

There  are  few  things,  indeed,  which  mark  with  equal 
precision,  the  state  of  civilization  existing  in  any  com¬ 
munity,  as  the  rank  assigned  in  it  to  females.  In  the 
rude  and  barbarous  stages  of  society,  they  are  invariably 
regarded  as  inferior  beings,  [31]  instruments  of  sensual 
gratification,  and  unworthy  the  attention  and  respect  of 
men.  As  mankind  advance  to  refinement,  females  grad¬ 
ually  attain  an  elevation  of  rank,  and  acquire  an  influence 
in  society,  which  smoothes  the  asperities  of  life  and  pro¬ 
duces  the  highest  polish,  of  which  human  nature  is  sus¬ 
ceptible. 

Among  the  Indians  there  is,  however  rude  they  may 
be  in  other  respects,  a  great  respect  always  paid  to  fe¬ 
male  chastity.  Instances  in  which  it  has  been  violated  by 
them,  if  to  be  found  at  all,  are  extremely  few.  However 
much  the  passion  of  revenge  may  stimulate  to  acts  of 
cruelty,  the  propensities  of  nature  never  lead  them  to  in¬ 
fringe  the  virtue  of  women  in  their  power. 

The  general  character  of  the  Indians,  was  more  es¬ 
timable,  when  they  first  became  known  to  Europeans,  than 
it  is  at  present.  This  has  been  ascribed  to  the  introduc¬ 
tion  of  ardent  spirits  among  them — other  causes  however, 
have  conspired  to  produce  the  result. 

The  cupidity  of  those  who  were  engaged  in  com¬ 
merce  with  the  natives,  too  frequently  prompted  them  to 
take  every  advantage,  for  self  aggrandizement,  which  they 
could  obtain  over  the  Indians.  In  the  lucrative  traffic  car¬ 
ried  on  with  them,  the  influence  of  honesty  was  not  pre¬ 
dominant — the  real  value  of  the  commodity  procured,  was 
never  allowed ;  while  upon  every  article  given  in  ex¬ 
change,  extortion  alone  affixed  the  price.  These  examples 
could  not  fail  to  have  a  deteriorating  effect  upon  their  un¬ 
tutored  minds;  and  we  find  them  accordingly  losing  their 
former  regard  for  truth,  honesty  and  fidelity;  and  becom¬ 
ing  instead  deceitful,  dishonest  and  treacherous.  Many 
of  their  ancient  virtues  however,  are  still  practised  by 
them. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


35 


The  rights  of  hospitality  are  accorded  to  those  who 
go  among  them,  with  a  liberality  and  sinceritjr  which 
would  reflect  credit  on  civilized  man.  And  although  it 
has  been  justly  said  that  they  rarely  forgive  an  enemy, 
yet  is  it  equally  true  that  they  never  forsake  their  friends; 
to  them  they  are  always  kind,  generous  and  beneficent. 

After  the  ceremony  of  introduction  is  over,1  a  captive 
enemy,  [32]  who  is  adopted  by  them,  is  also  treated  with 
the  utmost  humanity  and  attention.  An  Indian  cheerfully 
divides  his  last  morsel  with  an  adopted  son  or  brother; 
and  will  readily  risk  life  in  his  defence.  Such  indeed,  is 
the  kindness  which  captives  thus  situated  invariably  re¬ 
ceive,  that  they  frequently  regret  the  hour  of  their  redemp¬ 
tion,  and  refuse  to  leave  their  red  brethren,  to  return  and 
mingle  with  the  whites. 

As  members  of  a  community,  they  are  at  all  times 
willing  to  devote  their  every  faculty,  for  the  good  of  the 
whole.  The  honor  and  welfare  of  their  respective  tribes, 
are  primary  considerations  with  them.  To  promote  these, 
they  cheerfully  encounter  every  privation,  endure  every 
hardship,  and  face  every  danger.  Their  patriotism  is  of 
the  most  pure  and  disinterested  character ;  and  of  those 
who  have  made  us  feel  so  sensibly,  the  horrors  of  savage 
warfare,  many  were  actuated  by  motives  which  would  re¬ 
flect  honor  on  the  citizens  of  any  country.  The  unfortu¬ 
nate  Tecumseh  was  a  remarkable  example  of  the  most  ar¬ 
dent  and  patriotic  devotion  to  his  country. 

Possessed  of  an  acute  and  discerning  mind,  he  wit¬ 
nessed  the  extending  influence  of  the  whites,  with  painful 
solicitude.  Listening  with  melancholy  rapture,  to  the  tra¬ 
ditionary  accounts  of  the  former  greatness  of  his  nation, 
and  viewing  in  anticipation  the  exile  or  extinction  of  his 
race,  his  noble  soul  became  fired  with  the  hope  that  he 
might  retrieve  the  fallen  fortune  of  his  country,  and  restore 
it  to  its  pristine  dignity  and  grandeur.  His  attachment 
to  his  tribe  impelled  him  to  exertion  and  every  nerve  was 
strained  in  its  cause. 

1  Indians  consider  the  running  of  the  guantlet,  as  but  the  ceremony 
of  an  introduction  ;  and  say  that  it  is  “  like  the  shake  hands  and  howde 
do,  of  the  whites.” 


36 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Determined  if  possible  to  achieve  the  independence  of 
his  nation,  and  to  rid  her  of  those  whom  he  considered 
her  oppressors,  he  formed  the  scheme  of  uniting  in  hos¬ 
tility  against  the  United  States,  all  the  tribes  dwelling 
east  of  the  Mississippi  river.  In  the  prosecution  of  this 
purpose,  he  travelled  from  Mackinaw  to  Georgia,1  and  with 
wonderful  adroitness  practised  on  the  different  feelings  of 
his  red  brethren.  Assuming  at  times  the  character  of  a 
prophet,  he  wrought  powerfully  on  their  credulity  and  su¬ 
perstition. — Again,  depending  on  the  force  of  oratory,  the 
witchery  of  his  eloquence  drew  many  [33]  to  his  standard. 
But  all  was  in  vain — His  plans  were  entirely  frustrated. 
He  had  brought  none  of  his  auxiliaries  into  the  field  ;  and 
was  totally  unprepared  for  hostilities,  when  his  brother, 
the  celebrated  Shawanese  prophet,  by  a  premature  attack 
on  the  army  under  Gen.  Harrison,  at  an  inauspicious  mo¬ 
ment,  precipitated  him  into  a  war  with  the  United  States. 

Foiled  by  this  means,  Tecumseh  joined  the  standard 
of  Great  Britain  in  the  war  of  1812  ;  and  as  a  Brigadier 
General  in  her  army,  lost  his  life,  bravely  supporting  the 
cause  which  he  had  espoused.  He  deserved  a  better  fate; 
and  but  for  prejudice  which  is  so  apt  to  dim  the  eye  and 
distort  the  object,  Tecumseh  would,  most  probably,  be 
deemed  a  martyr  for  his  country,  and  associated  in  the 
mind  with  the  heroes  of  Marathon  and  Thermopylae. 

To  contemplate  the  Indian  character,  in  a  religious 
point  of  view,  is  less  gratifying  than  to  consider  it  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  lesser  morals.  At  the  period  of  the  settlement 
of  Western  Virginia,  excepting  the  Moravians,  and  a  few 
others  who  had  been  induced  by  the  zeal  and  exertions  of 
Roman  catholic  missionaries  to  wear  the  cross,  the  Indians 
north  west  of  the  Ohio  river,  were  truly  heathens.  They 
believed  indeed  in  a  First  Cause,  and  worshiped  the  Good 
Spirit;  but  they  were  ignorant  of  the  great  truths  of 
Christianity,  and  their  devotions  were  but  superstitious 
acts  of  blind  reverence.  In  this  situation  they  remain 

1  While  performing  this  tour,  Tecumseh  carried  a  red  stick,  the 
acceptance  of  which  was  considered  a  joining  of  his  party — Hence  those 
Indians  who  were  hostile  to  the  United  States,  were  denominated  Red 
Sticks. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


37 


generally  at  the  present  day,  notwithstanding  the  many 
laudable  endeavors  which  have  been  made  to  christianize 
them. 

Perhaps  there  was  never  a  tribe  in  America,  but  be¬ 
lieved  in  the  existence  of  a  Deity ;  yet  were  their  ideas 
of  the  nature  and  attributes  of  God,  not  only  obscure,  but 
preposterous  and  absurd.  They  believe  also  in  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  many  inferior  deities,  whom  they  suppose  to  be 
employed  as  assistants  in  managingthe  affairs  of  the  world, 
and  in  inspecting  the  actions  of  men.  Eagles  and  Owls  are 
thought  by  some  to  have  been  placed  here  as  observers  of 
the  actions  of  men  ;  and  accordingly,  when  an  eagle  is  seen 
to  soar  about  them  by  day,  or  an  owl  to  perch  near  them 
at  night,  they  immediately  offer  sacrifice,  that  a  good  re¬ 
port  may  be  made  of  them  to  the  Great  Spirit. 

They  are  likewise  believers  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul;  and  have  such  an  idea  of  a  future  state  of  existence, 
as  accords  with  their  character  and  condition  here. 
Strangers  to  [34]  intellectual  pleasures,  they  suppose  that 
their  happiness  hereafter  will  consist  of  mere  sensual 
gratifications ;  and  that  when  they  die,  they  will  be  trans¬ 
lated  to  a  delightful  region,  where  the  flowers  never  fade, 
nor  the  leaves  fall  from  the  trees ;  where  the  forests  abound 
in  game,  and  the  lakes  in  fish,  and  where  they  expect  to 
remain  forever,  enjoying  all  the  pleasures  which  delighted 
them  here.1 


1  Pope  has  very  finely  expressed  the  leading  articles  of  religion  among 
the  Indians  in  the  following  lines. 

Lo,  the  poor  Indian !  whose  untutor’d  mind 
Sees  God  in  clouds,  or  hears  him  in  the  wind ; 

His  soul  proud  science  never  taught  to  stray 
Far  as  the  Solar  Walk  or  Milky  Way ; 

Yet  simple  nature  to  his  hope  has  giv’n, 

Behind  the  cloud-topt  hill  an  humbler  heav’n ; 

Some  safer  world  in  depth  of  woods  embrac’d, 

Some  happier  island  in  the  wat’ry  waste ; 

Where  slaves  once  more  their  native  land  behold, 

No  fiends  torment,  no  Christians  thirst  for  gold. 

To  be,  contents  his  natural  desire, 

He  asks  no  angel’s  wing,  no  seraph’s  fire: 

But  thinks  admitted  to  that  equal  sky, 

Kis  faithful  dog  shall  bear  him  company. 


38 


Withers's  Chronicles 


In  consequence  of  this  belief,  when  an  Indian  dies, 
and  is  buried,  they  place  in  the  grave  with  him,  his  bow 
and  arrows  and  such  weapons  as  they  use  in  war,  that  he 
may  be  enabled  to  procure  game  and  overcome  an  enemy. 
And  it  has  been  said,  that  they  grieve  more  for  the  death 
of  an  infant  unable  to  provide  for  itself  in  the  world  of 
spirits,  than  for  one  who  had  attained  manhood  and  was 
capable  of  taking  care  of  himself.  An  interesting  in¬ 
stance  of  this  is  given  by  Major  Carver,  and  furnishes  at 
once,  affecting  evidence  of  their  incongruous  creed  and  of 
their  parental  tenderness.  Maj.  Carver  says: 

“  Whilst  I  remained  with  them,  a  couple  whose  tent 
was  near  to  mine,  lost  a  son  about  four  years  old.  The 
parents  were  so  inconsolable  for  its  loss,  and  so  much 
affected  by  its  death,  that  they  pursued  the  usual  testi¬ 
monies  of  grief  with  such  uncommon  vigor,  as  through 
the  weight  of  sorrow  and  loss  of  blood,  to  occasion  the 
death  of  the  father.  The  mother,  who  had  been  hitherto 
absorbed  in  grief,  no  sooner  beheld  her  husband  expire, 
than  she  dried  up  her  tears,  and  appeared  cheerful  and  re¬ 
signed. 

“As  I  knew  not  how  to  account  for  so  extraordinary 
a  transition,  I  took  an  opportunity  to  ask  her  the  reason 
of  it.  She  replied,  that  as  the  child  was  so  young  when 
it  died,  and  unable  to  support  itself  in  the  country  of 
spirits,  both  she  and  her  husband  had  been  apprehensive 
that  its  situation  would  be  far  from  pleasant ;  but  no  sooner 
did  she  behold  its  father  depart  for  the  same  place,  and 
who  not  only  loved  the  child  with  the  tenderest  affection, 
but  was  a  good  hunter  and  [35]  able  to  provide  plentifully 
for  its  support,  than  she  ceased  to  mourn.  She  added  that 
she  saw  no  reason  to  continue  her  tears,  as  the  child  was 
now  happy  under  the  protection  of  a  fond  father  ;  and  that 
she  had  only  one  wish  remaining  to  be  gratified,  and  that 
was  a  wish  to  be  herself  with  them.”1 

In  relation  to  the  Indian  antiquities  so  frequently  met 

1  The  author’s  summary  of  Indian  character  is  for  the  most  part  ex¬ 
cellent,  and  in  accord  with  more  recent  conclusions.  See  Chap.  I.  of 
The  Colonies ,  in  “Epochs  of  American  History”  (Longmans,  1892.) — R. 

G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


39 


with  in  America,  much  doubt  still  exists.  When  and  for 
what  purpose  many  of  those  vast  mounds  of  earth,  so 
common  in  the  western  country,  were  heaped  up,  is  mat¬ 
ter  of  uncertainty.  Mr.  Jefferson  has  pronounced  them  to 
be  repositories  of  the  dead ;  and  many  of  them  certainly 
were  designed  for  that  purpose ;  perhaps  all  with  which 
he  had  become  acquainted  previous  to  the  writing  of  his 
notes  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  deem  them 
worthy  the  name  of  monuments.  Since  the  country  has 
been  better  explored,  many  have  been  discovered  justly 
entitled  to  that  appellation,  some  of  which  seem  to  have 
been  constructed  for  purposes  other  than  inhumation.1 
These  are  frequently  met  with  in  the  valley  of  the  Missis¬ 
sippi,  and  are  said  to  extend  into  Mexico.  The  most  cele¬ 
brated  works  of  this  class,  are  believed  to  be  those  at  Cir- 
cleville  in  Ohio,  which  have  so  frequently  been  described, 
and  are  justly  considered  memorials  of  the  labor  and  per¬ 
severance  of  those  by  whom  they  were  erected. 

There  is  a  tradition  among  the  Indians  of  the  north, 
which  if  true  would  furnish  a  very  rational  solution  to  the 
question,  “  for  what  purpose  were  they  constructed?” 
According  to  this  tradition  about  “  two  thousand  two 
hundred  years,  before  Columbus  discovered  America,  the 
northern  nations  appointed  a  prince,  and  immediately  after, 
repaired  to  the  south  and  visited  the  Golden  city,  the  cap¬ 
ital  of  a  vast  empire.  After  a  time  the  emperor  of  the 
south  built  many  forts  throughout  his  dominions,  and  ex¬ 
tending  them  northwardly  almost  penetrated  the  lake 
Erie.  This  produced  much  excitement.  The  people  of 
the  north,  afraid  that  they  would  be  deprived  of  the  coun¬ 
try  on  the  south  side  of  the  great  lakes,  determined  to 
defend  it  against  the  infringement  of  any  foreign  people; 
long  and  bloody  wars  ensued  which  lasted  about  one  hun- 

1  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  an  early  and  careful  observer,  scouted 
the  idea  advanced  by  Noah  Webster,  in  Carey’s  American  Museum, 
in  1789,  that  these  extraordinary  Western  military  defenses  were  the 
work  of  De  Soto.  “As  for  his  being  the  author  of  these  fortifications,” 
says  Clark,  “  it  is  quite  out  of  the  question ;  they  are  more  numerous 
than  he  had  men,  and  many  of  them  would  have  required  fifty  thou* 
sand  men  for  their  occupancy.” — L.  C.  D. 


40 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


dred  years.  The  people  of  the  north,  being  more  skillful 
in  the  use  of  bows  and  arrows,  and  capable  of  enduring 
hardships  which  proved  fatal  to  those  of  the  south,  gained 
the  conquest ;  and  all  the  towns  and  forts,  which  had  been 
erected  by  their  enemy,  were  totally  destroyed  and  left  in 
a  heap  of  ruins.7’  1 

The  most  considerable  of  those  tumuli  or  sepulchral 
mounds,  which  are  found  in  Virginia,  is  that  on  the  bot¬ 
toms  of  Grave  creek,  near  its  entrance  into  the  Ohio,  about 
twelve  miles  below  Wheeling,  and  is  the  only  large  one  in 
this  section  of  the  country.  Its  diameter  at  the  base,  is 
said  to  be  one  hundred  yards,  its  perpendicular  height 
about  eighty  feet,  and  the  diameter  at  its  summit,  forty- 
five  feet.  Trees,  of  all  sizes  and  of  various  kinds,  are 
growing  on  its  sides ;  and  fallen  [36]  and  decayed  timber, 
is  interspersed  among  them ;  a  single  white  oak  rises  out 
of  a  concavity  in  the  centre  of  its  summit.2 

Near  tc  Cahokia  there  is  a  group  (of  about  two  hun¬ 
dred)  of  these  mounds,  of  various  dimensions.3  The  largest 
of  these  is  said  to  have  a  base  of  eight  hundred  yards  cir¬ 
cumference,  and  an  altitude  of  ninety  feet.  These  and  the 
one  mentioned  as  being  on  Grave  creek  and  many  smaller 
ones  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  were  no  doubt  places 
of  inhumation.4 — Many  have  been  opened,  and  found  to 
contain  human  bones  promiscuously  thrown  together.  Mr. 

1  Indian  traditions,  by  Cusick. 

2  This  description,  written  by  Withers  in  1831,  still  holds  good  in 
the  main.  The  mound,  which  proves  to  have  been  a  burial  tumulus,  is 
now  surrounded  by  the  little  city  of  Moundsville,  W.  Va.,  and  is  kept 
inclosed  by  the  owner  as  one  of  the  sights  of  the  place.  The  writer 
visited  it  in  May,  1894. — R.  G.  T. 

3  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  was  repeatedly  at  Cahokia  during  the 
period  1778-80,  says:  “We  easily  and  evidently  traced  the  town  for 
upwards  of  five  miles  in  the  beautiful  plain  below  the  present  town  of 
Kahokia.  There  could  be  no  deception  here,  because  the  remains  of 
ancient  works  were  thick — the  whole  were  mounds,  etc.”  Clark’s  MS. 
statement;  Schoolcraft’s  Indian  Tribes ,  IV.,  p.  135. — L.  C.  D. 

4  This  mound  was  used,  at  least  in  part,  for  burial  purposes.  Nearly 
fifty  years  ago,  when  the  writer  of  this  note  explored  this  remarkable 
artificial  elevation  of  eighty  feet  in  height,  he  found  in  the  excavation 
numerous  beads  of  shell  or  bone,  or  both,  ornaments  of  the  dead  buried 
there. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


41 


Jefferson  supposed  the  one  examined  by  him,  (the  diame¬ 
ter  of  whose  base  was  only  forty  feet  and  height  twelve)  to 
contain  the  bones  of  perhaps  a  thousand  human  beings, 
of  each  sex  and  of  every  age.  Others  have  been  exam¬ 
ined,  in  which  were  the  skeletons  of  men  of  much  greater 
stature,  than  that  of  any  of  the  Indians  in  America,  at  the 
time  of  its  discovery,  or  of  those  with  whom  we  have  since 
become  acquainted. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  since  the  whites  became 
settled  in  the  country,  the  Indians  were  in  the  habit  of 
collecting  the  bones  of  their  dead  and  of  depositing  them 
in  one  general  cemetery;  but  the  earth  and  stone  used  by 
them,  were  taken  from  the  adjacent  land.  This  was  not 
invariably  the  case,  with  those  ancient  heaps  of  earth 
found  in  the  west.  In  regard  to  many  of  them,  this  sin¬ 
gular  circumstance  is  said  to  be  a  fact,  that  the  earth,  of 
which  they  are  composed,  is  of  an  altogether  different  na¬ 
ture,  from  that  around  them ;  and  must,  in  some  instances, 
have  been  carried  a  considerable  distance.  The  tellurine 
structures  at  Circleville  are  of  this  sort ;  and  the  material 
of  which  they  were  constructed,  is  said  to  be  distinctly 
different,  from  the  earth  any  where  near  to  them. 

The  immensity  of  the  size  of  these  and  many  others, 
would  induce  the  supposition  that  they  could  not  have 
been  raised  by  a  race  of  people  as  indolent  as  the  Indians 
have  been,  ever  since  a  knowledge  was  had  of  them. 
Works,  the  construction  of  which  would  now  require  the 
concentrated  exertions  of  at  least  one  thousand  men,  aided 
by  the  mechanical  inventions  of  later  days,  for  several 
months,  could  hardly  have  been  erected  by  persons,  so 
subject  to  lassitude  under  labor  as  they  are  :  unless  indeed 
their  population  was  infinitely  greater  than  we  now  con¬ 
ceive  it  to  have  been.  Admitting  however,  this  density 
of  population  to  have  existed,  other  circumstances  would 
corroborate  the  belief,  that  the  country  once  had  other  in¬ 
habitants,  than  the  progenitors  of  those  who  have  been 
called,  the  aborigines  of  America:  one  of  these  circum¬ 
stances  is  the  uncommon  size  of  many  of  the  skeletons 
found  in  the  smaller  mounds  upon  the  hills. 

If  the  fact  be,  as  it  is  represented,  that  the  larger  skele^ 


42 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


tons  are  invariably  found  on  elevated  situations,  remote 
from  the  larger  water  courses,  it  would  tend  to  show  that 
there  was  a  diversity  of  habit,  and  admitting  their  cotem- 
poraneous  existence,  perhaps  no  alliance  or  intercourse 
between  those,  whose  remains  they  are,  and  the  persons 
by  whom  those  large  mounds  and  fortifications  were 
erected,  [37]  these  being  found  only  on  plains  in  the  con¬ 
tiguity  of  large  streams  or  inland  lakes ;  and  containing 
only  the  bones  of  individuals  of  ordinary  stature. 

Another  and  stronger  evidence  that  America  was  oc¬ 
cupied  by  others  than  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Indians, 
is  to  be  found  in  those  antiquities,  which  demonstrate  that 
iron  was  once  known  here,  and  converted  to  some  of  the 
uses  ordinarily  made  of  it. 

In  graduating  a  street  in  Cincinnati,  there  was  found, 
twenty-five  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  a  small 
horse  shoe,  in  which  were  several  nails.  It  is  said  to  pre¬ 
sent  the  appearance  of  such  erosion  as  would  result  from 
the  oxidation  of  some  centuries.  It  was  smaller  than 
would  be  required  for  a  common  mule.1 

Many  are  the  instances  of  pieces  of  timber  found, 
various  depths  below  the  surface  of  the  earth,  with  the 
marks  of  the  axe  palpably  visible  on  them.2  A  sword  too, 
said  to  have  been  enclosed  in  the  wood  of  the  roots  of  a 
tree  not  less  than  five  hundred  years  old,  is  preserved  in 
Ohio  as  a  curiosity.  Many  other  instances  might,  if  neces¬ 
sary,  be  adduced  to  prove,  that  implements  of  iron  were  in 
use  in  this  country,  prior  to  its  occupation  by  the  whites. 
How  if  a  people  once  have  the  use  of  that  metal,  it  is  far 

1  This  proves  nothing.  A  silver  medal  of  John  Quincy  Adams’s  ad¬ 
ministration,  evidently  presented  to  some  Indian  chief  was,  in  1894, 
found  in  Wisconsin,  twelve  feet  below  the  surface.  Iron  and  silver  tools 
and  ornaments,  evidently  made  in  Paris  for  the  Indian  trade,  have  been 
found  in  Ohio  and  Wisconsin  mounds.  It  is  now  sufficiently  demon¬ 
strated  that  the  mound-builders  were  the  ancestors  of  the  aborigines 
found  in  the  country  by  the  first  white  settlers,  and  that  the  mounds  aro 
of  various  ages,  ranging  perhaps  from  three  hundred  to  a  thousand  years. 
Various  Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  go  into  the  matter  with  con¬ 
vincing  detail. — It.  G.  T. 

2  Jacob  Wolf,  in  digging  a  well  on  Hacker’s  creek,  found  a  piece  of 
timber  which  had  been  evidently  cut  off  at  one  end,  twelve  or  thirteen 
feet  in  the  ground — marks  of  the  axe  were  plainly  distinguishable  on  it. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


43 


from  probable  that  it  will  ever  after  be  lost  to  them  :  the 
essential  purposes  to  which  it  may  be  applied,  would  pre¬ 
serve  it  to  them.  The  Indians  however,  ’till  taught  by  the 
Europeans,  had  no  knowledge  of  it. 

Many  of  the  antiquities  discovered  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  show  that  the  arts  once  flourished  to  an  extent  be¬ 
yond  what  they  have  ever  been  known  to  do  among  the  In¬ 
dians.  The  body  found  in  the  saltpetre  cave  of  Kentucky, 
was  wrapped  in  blankets  made  of  linen  and  interwoven  with 
feathers  of  the  wild  turkey,  tastefully  arranged.  It  was  much 
smaller  than  persons  of  equal  age  at  the  present  day,  and 
had  yellowish  hair.  In  Tennessee  many  walls  of  faced 
stone,  and  even  walled  wells  have  been  found  in  so  many 
places,  at  such  depths  and  under  such  circumstances, 
as  to  preclude  the  idea  of  their  having  been  made  by  the 
whites  since  the  discovery  by  Columbus. 

[38]  In  this  state  too,  have  been  found  burying  grounds, 
in  which  the  skeletons  seem  all  to  have  been  those  of  pig¬ 
mies  :  the  graves,  in  which  the  bodies  had  been  deposited, 
were  seldom  three  feet  in  length ;  yet  the  teeth  in  the  skulls 
prove  that  they  were  the  bodies  of  persons  of  mature  age. 

[Jpon  the  whole  there  cannot  be  much  doubt,  that 
America  was  once  inhabited  by  a  people,  not  otherwise 
allied  to  the  Indians  of  the  present  day,  than  that  they 
were  descendants  of  him,  from  whom  has  sprung  the  whole 
human  family. 


[39]  CHRONICLES 


OF 

BORDER  WARFARE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

At  the  time  when  Virginia  became  known  to  the  whites, 
it  was  occupied  by  many  different  tribes  of  Indians,  at¬ 
tached  to  different  nations.  That  portion  of  the  state 
lying  north  west  of  the  Blue  ridge,  and  extending  to  the 
lakes  was  possessed  by  the  Massawomees.  These  were  a 
powerful  confederacy,  rarely  in  amity  with  the  tribes  east 
of  that  range  of  mountains;  but  generally  harrassing 
them  by  frequent  hostile  irruptions  into  their  country. 
Of  their  subsequent  history,  nothing  is  now  known. 
They  are  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the  ancestors  of 
the  Six  Rations.  It  is  however  more  probable,  that  they 
afterwards  became  incorporated  with  these,  as  did  several 
other  tribes  of  Indians,  who  used  a  language  so  essentially 
different  from  that  spoken  by  the  Six  Rations,  as  to  ren¬ 
der  the  intervention  of  interpreters  necessary  between 
them. 

As  settlements  were  extended  from  the  sea  shore,  the 
Massawomees  gradually  retired  ;  and  when  the  white  pop¬ 
ulation  reached  the  Blue  ridge  of  mountains,  the  valley 
between  it  and  the  Alleghany,  was  entirely  uninhabited. 
This  delightful  region  of  country  'was  then  only  used  as 
a  hunting  ground,  and  as  a  highway  for  bell igerant  parties 
of  different  nations,  in  their  military  expeditions  against 
each  other.  In  consequence  of  the  almost  continued  hos¬ 
tilities  between  the  northern  and  southern  Indians,  these 
expeditions  were  very  frequent,  and  tended  somewhat  to 
retard  the  settlement  of  the  valley,  and  render  a  residence 
(44) 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


45 


in  it,  for  some  time,  insecure  and  unpleasant.  Between 
the  Alleghany  mountains  and  the  Ohio  river,  within  the 
present  limits  of  Virginia,  there  were  some  villages  inter¬ 
spersed,  inhabited  by  small  numbers  of  Indians ;  the  most 
[40]  of  whom  retired  north  west  of  that  river,  as  the  tide 
of  emigration  rolled  towards  it.  Some  however  remained 
in  the  interior,  after  settlements  began  to  be  made  in  their 
vicinity. 

North  of  the  present  boundary  of  Virginia,  and  par¬ 
ticularly  near  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monon- 
gahela  rivers,  and  in  the  circumjacent  country  the  Indians 
were  more  numerous,  and  their  villages  larger.  In  1753, 
when  Gen.  Washington  visited  the  French  posts  on  the 
Ohio,  the  spot  which  had  been  selected  by  the  Ohio  com¬ 
pany,  as  the  site  for  a  fort,  was  occupied  by  Shingess,  king 
of  the  Delawares ;  and  other  parts  of  the  proximate 
country,  were  inhabited  by  Mingoes  and  Shawanees.1 
When  the  French  were  forced  to  abandon  the  position, 
which  they  had  taken  at  the  forks  of  Ohio,  the  greater 
part  of  the  adjacent  tribes  removed  farther  west.  So  that 
when  improvements  were  begun  to  be  made  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness  of  North  Western  Virginia,  it  had  been  almost  en¬ 
tirely  deserted  by  the  natives ;  and  excepting  a  few  strag¬ 
gling  hunters  and  warriors,  who  occasionally  traversed  it 
in  quest  of  game,  or  of  human  beings  on  whom  to  wreak 
their  vengeance,  almost  its  only  tenants  were  beasts  of 
the  forest. 

In  the  country  north  west  of  the  Ohio  river,  there 
were  many  warlike  tribes  of  Indians,  strongly  imbued  with 
feelings  of  rancorous  hostility  to  the  neighboring  colonists. 
Among  the  more  powerful  of  these  were  the  Delawares, 
who  resided  on  branches  of  Beaver  Creek,  Cayahoga,  and 

1  King  Shingiss  was  a  famous  village  chief,  “  a  terror  to  the  frontier 
settlements  of  Pennsylvania.”  A  brother,  and  later  the  successor  of 
King  Beaver,  his  camp  was  at  the  mouth  of  Beaver  Creek,  which 
empties  into  the  Ohio  twenty-six  miles  below  “the  forks”  (site 
of  Pittsburg).  Christopher  Gist  visited  him  November  24,  1750.  In 
1759,  when  Fort  Pitt  was  built,  Shingiss  moved  up  Beaver  Creek  to 
Kuskuskis  on  the  Mahoning,  and  finally  to  the  M  uskingum.  The  land 
about  the  mouth  of  Beaver  Creek  is  called  “  Shingis  Old  Town  ”  in  the 
Ft.  Stanwix  treaty,  1784. — R.  G.  T. 


46 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Muskingum ;  and  whose  towns  contained  about  six  hun¬ 
dred  inhabitants — The  Shawanees,  who  to  the  number  of 
300,  dwelt  upon  the  Scioto  and  Muskingum — The  Chippe- 
was,  near  Mackinaw,  of  400 — Cohunnewagos,  of  300,  and 
who  inhabited  near  Sandusky — The  Wyandots,  whose 
villages  were  near  fort  St.  Joseph,  and  embraced  a  popula¬ 
tion  of  250 — The  Twightees,  near  fort  Miami,  with  a  like 
population — The  Miamis,  on  the  river  Miami,  near  the  fort 
of  that  name,  reckoning  300  persons — The  Pottowatomies 
of  300,  and  the  Ottawas  of  550,  in  their  villages  near  to 
forts  St.  Joseph  and  Detroit,1  and  of  250,  in  the  towns 
near  Mackinaw.  Besides  these,  there  were  in  the  same 
district  of  country,  others  of  less  note,  yet  equally  inimi¬ 
cal  to  the  whites ;  and  who  contributed  much  to  the  an¬ 
noyance  [41]  of  the  first  settlers  on  the  Ohio,  and  its  trib¬ 
utaries. 

There  were  likewise  the  Munsies,  dwelling  on  the 
north  branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  on  the  Allegheny 
river — The  Senecas,  on  the  waters  of  the  Susquehanna, 
Ontario  and  the  heads  of  the  Allegheny — The  Cayugas, 
on  Cayuga  lake,  and  the  Sapoonies,  who  resided  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Munsies.  In  these  tribes  was  an  ag¬ 
gregate  population  of  1,380  souls,  and  they  likewise  aided 
in  committing  depredations  on  our  frontiers. 

Those  who  ventured  to  explore  and  occupy  the  south 
western  portion  of  Virginia,  found  also  in  its  vicinity  some 
powerful  and  warlike  tribes.  The  Cherokees  possessed 
what  was  then,  the  western  part  of  North  Carolina  and 
numbered  2,500 — The  Chicasaws,  residing  south  of  the 
Cherokees,  had  a  population  of  750 — and  the  Catawbas, 
on  the  Catawba  river  in  South  Carolina  with  only  150  per¬ 
sons.  These  latter  were  remarkably  adventurous,  enter¬ 
prising  and  courageous ;  and  notwithstanding  their  re¬ 
mote  situation,  and  the  paucity  of  their  numbers,  fre¬ 
quently  traversed  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  even  pene¬ 
trated  the  country  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Susque- 

1  The  numbers  here  set  down  and  those  given  below,  are  as  they 
were  ascertained  liy  Capt.  Hutchins,  who  visited  the  most  of  the  tribes 
for  purpose  of  learning  their  population  in  1768. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


47 


hanna,  and  between  the  Ohio  river  and  lake  Erie,  to  wage 
war  upon  the  Delawares.  Their  success  in  many  of  these 
expeditions,  is  preserved  in  tne  traditions  of  the  Dela¬ 
wares,  who  continue  to  regard  them  as  having  used  in 
these  wars,  a  degree  of  cunning  aud  stratagem,  to  which 
other  tribes  have  never  approached.1 

Such  were  the  numbers  and  positions  of  many  of  the 
proximate  Indians  about  the  time  settlements  were  begun 
to  be  [42]  made  on  the  Monongahela  river  and  its  branches. 
Anterior  to  this  period,  adventurers  had  explored,  and 
established  themselves,  in  various  parts  of  the  valley  be¬ 
tween  the  Blue  ridge  and  the  Alleghany  mountain.  That 
section  of  it,  which  was  included  within  the  limits  of  the 
Northern-Neck,  was  the  first  to  become  occupied  by  the 
whites.  The  facilities  afforded  by  the  proprietor  for  ob¬ 
taining  land  within  his  grant,  the  greater  salubrity  of 
climate  and  fertility  of  soil  near  to  the  Blue  ridge,  caused 
the  tide  of  emigration  to  flow  rapidly  towards  the  upper 
country,  and  roll  even  to  the  base  of  that  mountain.  Set¬ 
tlements  were  soon  after  extended  westwardly  across  the 
Shenandoah,  and  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  Win¬ 
chester  became  a  trading  post,  with  sparse  improvements 
in  its  vicinity. 

About  this  time  Thomas  Morlin,  a  pedlar  trading 
from  Williamsburg  to  Winchester,  resolved,  in  conjunc¬ 
tion  with  John  Sailing  a  weaver  also  from  Williamsburg, 
to  prosecute  an  examination  of  the  country,  beyond  the 

1  A  tradition  among  the  Delawares  says  that  formerly  the  Catawbas 
came  near  one  of  their  hunting  camps  and  remaining  in  ambush  at  night 
sent  two  or  three  of  their  party  round  the  camp  with  Buffalo  hoofs 
fixed  to  their  feet,  to  make  artificial  buffalo  tracks  and  thus  decoy  the 
hunters  from  their  camp.  In  the  morning  the  Delawares,  discovering 
the  tracks  and  supposing  them  to  have  been  made  by  buffaloes,  fol¬ 
lowed  them  some  time;  when  suddenly  the  Catawbas  rose  from  their 
covert,  fired  at  and  killed  several  of  the  hunters;  the  others  fled,  col¬ 
lected  a  party  and  went  in  pursuit  of  the  Catawbas.  These  had  brought 
with  them,  rattle  snake  poison  corked  up  in  a  piece  of  cane  stalk ;  into 
which  they  dipped  small  reed  splinters,  which  they  set  up  along  their 
path.  The  Delawares  in  pursuit  were  much  injured  by  those  poisoned 
splinters,  and  commenced  retreating  to  their  camp.  The  Catawbas  dis¬ 
covering  this,  turned  upon  their  pursuers,  and  killed  and  scalped  many 
of  them. 


48 


Withers's  Chronicles 


limits  which  had  hitherto  bounded  the  exploratory  excur¬ 
sions  of  other  adventurers.  With  this  view,  they  travelled 
up  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  and  crossing  James  river 
and  some  of  its  branches,  proceeded  as  far  as  the  Roanoke, 
when  Sailing  was  taken  captive  by  a  party  of  Cherokees, 
Morlin  was  fortunate  enough  to  elude  their  pursuit,  and 
effect  a  safe  retreat  to  Winchester. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  party  by  whom  Sailing  had 
been  captivated,  he  was  taken  to  Tennessee  where  he  re¬ 
mained  for  some  years.  When  on  a  hunting  expedition 
to  the  Salt  licks  of  Kentucky,  in  company  writh  some 
Cherokees  to  kill  buffalo,  they  were  surprised  by  a  party 
of  Illinois  Indians,  with  whom  the  Cherokees  were  then 
at  wTar,  and  by  them  Sailing  wras  again  taken  prisoner. 
He  wTas  then  carried  to  Kaskaskia,  when  he  was  adopted 
into  the  family  of  a  squaw  whose  son  had  been  killed  in 
the  wars. 

While  with  this  nation  of  Indians,  Sailing  frequently 
accompanied  parties  of  them  on  hunting  excursions,  a  con¬ 
siderable  distance  to  the  south.  On  several  occasions  he 
went  with  them  below  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  and 
once  to  the  Gulph  of  Mexico.  In  one  of  those  expeditions 
they  met  with  a  party  of  Spaniards,  exploring  the  coun¬ 
try  and  who  needed  an  interpreter.  For  this  purpose  they 
purchased  Sailing  of  his  Indian  mother  for  three  strands 
of  beads  and  a  Calumet.  Sailing  attended  them  to  the 
post  at  Crevecceur ;  from  which  [43]  place  he  was  conveyed 
to  fort  Frontignac  :  here  he  was  redeemed  by  the  Governor 
of  Canada,  who  sent  him  to  the  Dutch  settlement  in  Hew 
York,  whence  he  made  his  way  home  after  an  absence  of 
six  vears.1 

1  John  Peter  Sailing,  sometimes  spoken  of  as  Peter  Adam  Sailing,  was, 
if  not  of  German  birth,  of  German  descent.  With  his  brother  Henry, 
he  early  settled  in  the  forks  of  James  River  and  North  Branch,  in  the 
southern  part  of  what  is  now  Rockbridge  county,  Ya.  The  details  of 
his  early  explorations  in  the  West  are  involved  in  doubt,  but  that  he 
had  such  adventures  there  seems  no  good  reason  to  doubt.  It  wrill  be 
noticed  that  Withers  omits  the  date;  some  waiters  have  placed  it  at 
about  1724,  but  the  probable  time  was  1738-40.  His  descendants  told 
Draper  (about  1850)  that  the  family  tradition  was,  that  Sailing  and  a 
son  were  employed  by  the  governor  of  Virginia  to  explore  the  country 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


49 


The  emigration  from  Great  Britain  to  Virginia  was  then 
very  great,  and  at  the  period  of  Sailing’s  return  to  Will¬ 
iamsburg,  there  were  then  many  adventurers,  who  had  but 
recently  arrived  from  Scotland  and  the  north  of  England. 
Among  these  adventurers  were  John  Lewis *  1 * * 4  and  John 

to  the  southwest ;  and  when  near  the  present  Salem,  Roanoke  county, 
they  wrere  captured  by  Cherokees  and  carried  to  the  Ohio  River — one 
account  says  by  way  of  the  Tennessee,  another  by  the  New  (Great 
Kanawha),  their  boat  being  made  of  buffalo  skins.  They  appear  by 
this  tradition  to  have  escaped,  and  in  descending  the  Mississippi  to 
have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Spaniards.  The  son  died,  and  the 
father  was  sent  in  a  vessel  bound  for  Spain,  there  to  be  tried  as  a  British 
spy  ;  but  the  Spaniard  being  captured  by  an  English  vessel,  our  hero 
wras  landed  at  Charleston,  whence  he  reached  his  frontier  home  after 
an  absence  of  over  three  years.  This  story  differs  in  many  details  from 
the  one  in  Kercheval’s  History  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia ,  and  also  that  in 
Withers’s  text,  above.  Sailing  kept  a  journal  which  was  extant  in 
1745,  for  in  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society’s  library  is  a  diary  kept 
by  Capt.  John  Buchanan,  who  notes  that  in  that  year  he  spent  two  days 
in  copying  apart  of  it.  In  Du  Pratz’  History  of  Louisiana  (London,  1774), 
Sailing  and  one  John  Howard  are  said  to  have  made  this  trip  in  1742, 
and  the  authority  is  said  to  be  a  Report  of  the  Government  of  Virginia. 
But  Sailing  must  have  returned  home  by  1742,  for  his  name  is  in  the 
roll  of  Capt.  John  McDowell’s  militia  company,  and  he  was  probably  in 
the  fight  with  the  Indians  (Dec.  14)  that  year,  in  which  McDowell  lost 
his  life.  In  1746,  we  found  Sailing  himself  a  militia  captain  in  the 
Rockbridge  district  of  Augusta  county.  In  September,  1747,  he  was 
cited  to  appear  at  court  martial  for  not  turning  out  to  muster — and  this 
is  the  last  record  we  have  of  him.  Descendants,  named  Sallee,  now  live 
in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. — R.  G.  T. 

1  John  Lewis,  the  father  of  Gen.  Andrew  Lewis,  was  probably  of 
Welsh  descent,  and  born  in  1678  in  County  Donegal,  Ireland.  About 

1716  he  married  Margaret  Lynn,  of  the  famous  Lynns  of  Loch  Lynn, 
Scotland.  In  a  dispute  over  his  tenancy  (1729),  he  killed  a  man  of  high 
station, — some  say,  his  Catholic  landlord,— and  fled  to  Portugal,  whence 
in  1731,  after  strange  adventures,  he  emigrated  to  America,  and  was 
joined  there  by  his  family.  Fearing  to  live  near  a  sea-port  he  established 
himself  on  the  frontier,  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  two  miles  east  of  the 
present  site  of  Staunton.  His  house  was  of  stone,  built  for  defense,  and 
in  1754  it  successfully  stood  an  Indian  siege.  Lewis  was  colonel  of  the 

Augusta  county  militia  as  early  as  1743,  presiding  justice  in  1745,  and 
high  sheriff  in  1748.  In  1751,  then  73  years  of  age,  he  assisted  his  son 
Andrew,  then  agent  of  the  Loyal  Company,  to  explore  and  survey  the  lat¬ 
ter’s  grant  on  Greenbrier  River.  It  was  because  the  old  man  became  en¬ 
tangled  in  the  thicket  of  greenbriers,  that  he  gave  this  name  to  the 
stream.  He  died  at  his  old  fort  homestead,  February  1,  1762,  aged  84 

4 


50 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Mackey.  Sailing’s  return  excited  a  considerable  and  very 
general  interest,  and  drew  around  him  many,  particularly 
of  those  who  had  but  lately  come  to  America,  and  to  whom 
the  narrative  of  one,  who  had  been  nearly  six  years  a 
captive  among  the  Indians,  was  highly  gratifying.  Lewis 
and  Mackey  listened  attentively  to  the  description  given 
of  the  country  in  the  valley,  and  pleased  with  its  beauty 
and  fertility  as  represented  by  Sailing,  they  prevailed  on 
him  to  accompany  them  on  a  visit  to  examine  it  more 
minutely,  and  if  found  correspondent  with  his  description 
to  select  in  it  situations  for  their  future  residence. 

Lewis  made  choice  of,  and  improved,  a  spot  a  few  miles 
below  Staunton,  on  a  creek  which  bears  his  name — Mac- 
key  on  the  middle  branch  of  the  Shenandoah  near  Buffalo- 
gap;  and  Sailing  in  the  forks  of  James  river,  below  the 
Natural  Bridge,  where  some  of  his  descendants  still  reside. 
Thus  was  effected  the  first  white  settlement  ever  made  on 
the  James  river,  west  of  the  Blue  ridge.* 1 

In  the  year  1736,  Lewis,  being  in  Williamsburg,  met 
with  Benjamin  Burden  (who  had  then  just  come  to  the  coun¬ 
try  as  agent  of  Lord  Fairfax,  proprietor  of  the  Northern 
Neck,)  and  on  whom  he  prevailed  to  accompany  him  home. 
Burden  remained  at  Lewis's  the  greater  part  of  the  sum¬ 
mer,  and  on  his  return  to  Williamsburg,  took  with  him  a 
buffalo  calf,  which  while  hunting  with  Samuel2  and  Andrew 
Lewis  (elder  sons  of  John)  they  had  caught  and  afterwards 
tamed.  He  presented  this,  calf  to  Gov.  Gooch,  who  there¬ 
upon  entered  on  his  journal,  [44]  an  order,  authorizing 
Burden  to  locate  conditionally,  any  quantity  of  land  not 
exceeding  500,000  acres  on  any  of  the  waters  of  the  Shen- 

vears.  Some  accounts  state  that  he  was  a  Presbyterian  ;  he  was,  how¬ 
ever,  an  Episcopalian. — R.  G.T. 

1  Lewis  soon  afterwards  obtained  leave  from  Governor  Gooch  to  locate 
100,000  acres  of  land  in  separate  parcels  on  the  waters  of  the  Shenan¬ 
doah  and  James  rivers;  and  when- he  would  go  out  in  search  of  good 
land  to  locate,  Mackey  would  accompany  him  to  hunt  buffalo.  The 
former  amassed  a  large  estate,  while  the  latter  lived  and  died  in  com¬ 
parative  poverty. 

2  As  Col.  John  Lewis  had  no  son  Samuel,  probably  Thomas  Lewis,  the 
elder  brother  of  Andrew,  though  near-sighted,  may  have  engaged  in 
buffalo  hunting. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


51 


andoah,  or  of  James  river  west  of  the  Blue  ridge.  The 
conditions  of  this  grant  were,  that  he  should  interfere 
with  no  previous  grants — that  he  should  settle  100  families, 
in  ten  years,  within  its  limits;  and  should  have  1000  acres 
adjoining  each  cabin  which  he  should  cause  to  be  built, 
with  liberty  to  purchase  any  greater  quantity  adjoining,  at 
the  rate  of  fifty  pounds  per  thousand  acres.  In  order  to 
effect  a  compliance  with  one  of  these  conditions,  Burden 
visited  Great  Britian  in  1737 ;  and  on  his  return  to  Vir¬ 
ginia  brought  with  him  upwards  of  one  hundred  families 
of  adventurers,  to  settle  on  his  grant.1  Amongst  these 
adventurers  were,  John  Patton,  son-in-law  to  Benjamin 
Burden,  who  settled  on  Catawba,  above  Pattonsburg2 3 — 

1  Of  the  origin  of  Benjamin  Borden,  Sr.  (the  name  was  mispro¬ 

nounced  Burden,  on  the  frontier),  little  is  known.  He  was  probably  from 
New  Jersey,  and  early  became  a  fur  trader  on  the  Virginia  frontier ;  later 
he  was  in  Lord  Fairfax’s  employ  as  a  land  agent.  As  such,  he  visited 
Governor  Gooch  and  obtained  from  him  several  valuable  tracts — one  of 
them  (October  3,  1734),  Borden  Manor,  on  Sprout  run,  Frederick  county; 
another,  100,000  acres  at  the  head  of  the  James,  on  condition  of  locating 
thereon  a  hundred  families.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  had  erected 
92  cabins  with  as  many  families,  and  a  patent  was  granted  him  Novem¬ 
ber  8,  1739,  for  92,100  acres.  He  died  in  1742,  before  further  develop¬ 
ment  of  his  enterprise.  His  son  Benjamin  succeeded  to  his  vast  estate^ 
but  died  of  small-pox  in  1753.  In  1744,  he  married  the  widow  of  John 
McDowell,  mentioned  on  the  next  page,  who  had  been  killed  in  the 
Indian  fight  of  December  14,  1742. — B.  G.  T. 

3  The  daughter  of  John  Patton  subsequently  became  the  wife  of 
Col.  W.  Preston,  and  the  mother  of  James  Patton  Preston,  late  a  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Virginia. 

Comment  by  L.  C.  D. — This  note  of  Mr.  Withers,  derived  from  Taylor’s 
sketches  (mentioned  below),  is  erroneous  both  as  to  Patton  and  Preston. 
Col.  Patton’s  first  name  was  not  John,  but  James,  as  both  the  records  and 
his  own  autograph  sufficiently  attest.  Neither  did  John  Preston,  nor  his 
son  Col.  Wm.  Preston,  marry  Col.  Patton’s  daughter,  but  John  Preston 
married  his  sister.  Miss  Elizabeth  Patton,  wrhile  crossing  the  Shannon 
in  a  boat,  met  the  handsome  John  Preston,  then  a  young  ship  carpenter, 
and  an  attachmeut  grew  out  of  their  accidental  meeting.  But  as  Miss 
Patton  belonged  to  the  upper  class  of  society,  there  was  a  wide  gulf  be¬ 
tween  their  conditions,  and  a  runaway  match  was  the  only  way  out  of 
the  difficulty.  Gov.  James  Patton  Preston  was  named  after  his  grand¬ 
uncle.  James  Patton  was  born  in  County  Londonderry,  Ireland,  in  1692. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  prosperous  navigator,  and  crossed  the  Atlantic 
twenty-five  times  with  “  redemptioners  ”  for  Virginia;  he  was  also  an 


52 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Ephraim  McDowell,  who  settled  at  Phoebe’s  falls — John, 
the  son  of  Ephraim,* 1  who  settled  at  Fairfield,  where  Col. 
James  McDowell  now  lives — Hugh  Telford,  who  settled  at 
the  Falling  spring,  in  the  forks  of  James  river — Paul 
Whitley,  who  settled  on  Cedar  creek,  wThere  the  Red  Mill 
now  is — Archibald  Alexander,  who  settled  on  the  North 
river,  opposite  Lexington — Andrew  Moore,  who  settled 
adjoining  Alexander — Sampson  Archer,  who  settled  at 
Gilmore’s  spring,  east  of  the  Bridge  tavern,  and  Capt. 
John  Matthews,  who  married  Betsy  Archer,  (the  daughter 
of  Sampson)  settled  where  Major  Matthews  lives,  below 
the  Natural  bridge. 

Among  others  who  came  to  Virginia  at  this  time,, 
was  an  Irish  girl  named  Polly  Mulhollin.  On  her  arrival 
she  was  hired  to  James  Bell  to  pay  her  passage;  and  with 
whom  she  remained  during  the  period  her  servitude  was 
to  continue.  At  its  expiration  she  attired  herself  in  the 
habit  of  a  man  ;  and  with  hunting  shirt  and  mocasons, 
went  into  Burden’s  grant,  for  the  purpose  of  making  im¬ 
provements  and  acquiring  a  title  to  land.  Here  she  erected 
thirty  cabins,  by  virtue  of  which  she  held  one  hundred 
acres  adjoining  each.  When  Benjamin  Burden  the 
younger,  came  on  to  make  deeds  to  those  who  held  cabin 
rights,  he  was  astonished  to  see  so  many  in  the  name  of 

officer  in  the  royal  navy  in  the  wars  with  the  Netherlands.  Having  ob¬ 
tained  a  grant  of  120,000  acres  above  the  Blue  Ridge,  he  himself  settled 
in  Virginia  in  1735.  A  man  of  wealth,  enterprise  and  influence,  he  was 
a  justice,  sheriff,  Indian  treaty  commissioner,  and  finally  county  lieu¬ 
tenant  of  Augusta.  In  1755,  he  was  killed  by  Indians  while  conveying 
ammunition  to  the  borderers. 

1  Capt.  John  McDowell  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  born  in  Ulster, 
Ireland,  but  in  early  manhood  came  to  America,  settling  first  in  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  and  then  the  Virginia  Valley  (autumn  of  1737).  He  at  once 
became  one  of  Benjamin  Borden’s  surveyors,  and  for  five  years  made 
surveys  on  Borden’s  Manor.  Becoming  a  captain  in  the  Augusta  militia, 
he  was  ordered  to  go  out  against  a  party  of  Northern  Indians  who,  on 
the  war-path  against  the  Catawbas,  had  taken  in  the  Virginia  Valley  on 
their  way,  and  annoyed  and  plundered  the  white  settlers.  The  savages 
were  overtaken  on  the  North  Branch  of  James  River,  some  fifteen 
miles  from  McDowell’s  place,  and  an  engagement  ensued  (Dec.  14, 1742), 
in  which  McDowell  and  seven  others  lost  their  lives.  The  Indians 
escaped  with  small  losses.  This  was  the  first  battle  between  whites  and 
Indians,  in  the  Virginia  Valley. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


53 


Mulhollin.  Investigation  led  to  a  discovery  of  the  mys¬ 
tery,  to  the  great  mirth  of  the  other  claimants.  She  re¬ 
sumed  her  Christian  name  and  feminine  dress,  and  many  of 
[45]  her  respectable  descendants  still  reside  within  the  limits 
of  Burden’s  grant.1 

When  in  1752  Robert  Dinwiddie  came  over  as  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Virginia,  he  was  accompanied  by  many  adventur¬ 
ers;  among  whom  was  John  Stuart,2  an  intimate  friend 
of  Dinwiddie,  who  had  married  the  widow  of  John  Paul 
(son  of  Hugh,  bishop  of  Nottingham.)  John  Paul,  a  par- 
tizan  of  the  house  of  Stuart,  had  perished  in  the  siege  of 
Dalrymple  castle  in  1745,  leaving  three  children — John, 
who  became  a  Roman  catholic  priest  and  died  on  the  east¬ 
ern  shore  of  Maryland — Audley,  who  was  for  ten  years  an 
officer  in  the  British  colonial  forces,  —  and  Polly,  who 
married  Geo.  Matthews,  afterwards  governor  of  Georgia. 
Mrs.  Paul  (formerly  Jane  Lynn,  of  the  Lynns  of  Loch- 
Lynn,  a  sister  to  the  wife  of  John  Lewis)  had  issue,  by 

1  This  incident  is  well  authenticated.  See  the  deposition  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Greenlee,  preserved  in  the  famous  Borden  land  suit,  among  the 
court  records  of  Augusta  county,  Ya.  Mrs.  Greenlee  was  the  sister  of 
Capt.  John  McDowell,  and  among  the  very  earliest  settlers  of  that  part 
of  Augusta,  now  Rockbridge  county.  Mrs  Greenlee’s  deposition  is  pub¬ 
lished  in  full  in  Peyton’s  History  of  Augusta  County,  Va.  (Staunton,  Ya., 
1882),  pp.  69-74.— L.  C.  D. 

2  The  late  Charles  A.  Stuart,  of  Greenbrier,  son  of  Col.  John  Stuart, 
after  the  appearance  of  Hugh  Paul  Taylor’s  sketches  over  the  signature 
of  “  Son  of  Cornstalk,”  published  in  the  Staunton  Spectator  of  August  21, 
1829,  over  the  signature  of  “  Son  of  Blue  Jacket,”  a  brief  criticism,  in  the 
nature  of  some  corrections  regarding  his  own  family,  to  this  effect :  That 
Mrs.  Jane  Paul  was  no  relative  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Lewis,  wife  of  Col.  John 
Lewis;  that  her  first  husband,  Mr.  Paul — not  John,  but  probably  Hugh 
Paul — was  apparently  from  the  north  of  Ireland — their  son  Audley  Paul 
was  born  before  the  migration  of  the  family  to  Pennsylvania;  Mr.  Paul, 
Sr.,  it  is  said,  became  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Ches¬ 
ter,  in  that  province;  but  as  Chester  was  a  Quaker  settlement,  it  is 
more  likely  that  he  located  in  some  Presbyterian  community  in  that  re¬ 
gion,  and  there  must  have  died.  Mrs.  Paul,  for  her  second  husband, 
married  Col.  David  Stuart,  also  from  Ireland,  by  whom  she  had  John 
Stuart  and  two  daughters.  Mrs.  Stuart’s  grandchild,  Charles  A.  Stuart, 
resided  many  years  in  Augusta,  representing  that  county  in  the  State 
senate,  subsequently  removed  back  to  Greenbrier  county,  where  he 
died  about  1850,  at  the  age  of  about  sixty-five  years.  He  was  a  man  oi 
sterling  qualities. — L.  C.  D. 


54 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Stuart,  John,  since  known  as  Col.  Stuart  of  Greenbrier, 
and  Betsy,  who  became  the  wife  of  Col.  Richard  Woods 
of  Albemarle. 

The  greater  part  of  those,  who  thus  ventured  “  on  the 
untried  being”  of  a  wilderness  life,  were  Scottish  presby- 
terian  dissenters;  a  class  of  religionists,  of  all  others  per¬ 
haps,  the  most  remarkable  for  rigid  morality.  They 
brought  with  them,  their  religious  principles,  and  sectional 
prepossessions;  and  acting  upon  those  principles  acquired 
for  their  infant  colony  a  moral  and  devotional  character 
rarely  possessed  by  similar  establishments.  While  these 
sectional  prepossessions,  imbibed  by  their  descendants, 
gave  to  their  religious  persuasions,  an  ascendency  in  that 
section  of  country,  which  it  still  retains. 

They  were  also  men  of  industry  and  enterprise.  Hunt¬ 
ing,  which  too  frequently  occupies  the  time,  of  those  who 
make  the  forest  their  dwelling  place,  and  abstracts  the 
attention  from  more  important  pursuits,  wras  to  them  a 
recreation — not  the  business  of  life.  To  improve  their 
condition,  by  converting  the  woods  into  fertile  plains,  and 
the  wilderness  into  productive  meadows,  was  their  chief 
object.  In  the  attainment  of  this,  they  were  eminently 
successful.  Their  individual  circumstances  became  pros¬ 
perous.  and  the  country  flourishing. 

The  habits  and  manners  of  the  primeval  inhabitants 
of  any  country,  generally  give  to  it  a  distinctive  character, 
which  marks  it  through  after  ages.  Notwithstanding  the 
influx  of  strangers,  bringing  with  them  prejudices  and 
prepossessions,  at  variance  with  those  of  the  community 
in  which  they  come;  [46]  yet  such  is  the  influence  of  ex¬ 
ample,  and  such  the  facility  with  which  the  mind  imbibes 
the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  those  with  whom  it  associ¬ 
ates,  that  former  habits  are  gradually  lost  and  those 
which  prevail  in  society,  imperceptibly  adopted  by  its  new 
members. 

In  like  manner,  the  moral  and  religious  habits  of  those 
who  accompanied  Burden  to  Virginia,  were  impressed  on 
the  country  which  they  settled,  and  entailed  on  it  that 
high  character  for  industry,  morality  and  piety,  which  it 
stTl  possesses,  in  an  eminent  degree. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


55 


At  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  this  settlement,  all 
that  part  of  Virginia  lying  west  of  the  Blue  ridge  mount¬ 
ains,  was  included  in  the  county  of  Orange.  At  the  fall 
session,  of  the  colonial  legislature,  in  1738,  the  counties  of 
Frederick  and  Augusta  were  formed  out  of  Orange — The 
country  included  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Potomac 
river,  on  the  north,  the  Blue  ridge,  on  the  east,  and  a  line, 
to  be  run  from  the  head  spring  of  Hedgman,  to  the  head 
spring  of  Potomac,  on  the  south  and  west,  to  be  the  county 
of  Frederick  ;  the  remainder  of  the  state  west  of  the  Blue 
ridge,  to  the  utmost  limits  of  Virginia  to  constitute  Au¬ 
gusta.  Within  its  limits  were  included,  not  only  a  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  Virginia  as  she  now  is,  but  an  extent 
of  territory  out  of  which  has  been  already  carved  four 
states,  possessing  great  natural  advantages,  and  the  ex¬ 
treme  fertility  of  whose  soil,  will  enable  them  to  support 
perhaps  a  more  dense  population,  than  any  other  portion 
of  North  America  of  equal  dimensions.  As  the  settlements 
were  extended,  subdivisions  were  made,  ’till  what  was  once 
Augusta  county  south  east  of  the  Ohio  river,  has  been 
chequered  on  the  map  of  Virginia,  into  thirty-three  coun¬ 
ties  with  an  aggregate  population  ef  289, 362.1 

1  The  following  table  exhibits  a  list  of  the  several  counties  west  of  the 
Blue  ridge — the  counties  from  which  each  was  taken — when  estab¬ 
lished — their  area  in  square  miles — population  in  1830,  and  amount  of 
taxation  for  the  same  year. 


Counties.  | 

From  what 

When  | 

Area. 

Popula-  | 

Taxa¬ 

taken. 

formed. 

tion 

tion. 

Augusta, 

Orange, 

1738 

948 

19,925 

6,734 

Alleghany, 

Bath,  Botetourt  and 

Monroe, 

1822 

521 

2,816 

526 

Bath, 

Augusta,  Botetourt 

and  Greenbrier, 

1791 

795 

4,068 

865 

[47]  Brooke, 

Ohio, 

1797 

202 

7,040 

1,136 

Berkeley, 

Frederick, 

1772 

308 

10,528 

3,356 

Botetourt, 

Augusta, 

1770 

1057 

16,354 

3,809 

Cabell, 

Kanawha, 

1809 

1033 

5,884 

629 

Frederick, 

Orange, 

1738 

745 

26,045 

9,396 

Greenbrier, 

Botet’t  &  Montg’ry, 

1778 

1409 

9,059 

1,716 

Giles, 

Montgomery,  Monroe 

and  Tazewell, 

1806 

935 

5,300 

541 

Grayson, 

Wythe, 

1793 

927 

7,675 

537 

56 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[48]  About  the  year  1749  there  was  in  the  county  of 
Frederick,  a  man  subject  to  lunacy,  and  who,  when  labor¬ 
ing  under  the  influence  of  this  disease,  would  ramble  a 
considerable  distance  into  the  neighboring  wilderness.  In 
one  of  these  wanderings  he  came  on  some  of  the  waters 
of  Greenbrier  river.  Surprised  to  see  them  flowing  in  a 
westwardly  direction,  on  his  return  to  Winchester  he 
made  known  the  fact,  and  that  the  country  abounded  very 


Counties. 

From,  what 

When  | 

Area.  | 

Popula- 

Taxa- 

taken. 

formed. 

tion. 

tion. 

Harrison, 

Monongalia, 

1784 

1095 

14,713 

1,669 

Hampshire, 

Augusta  &  Fred’k, 

1754 

989 

11,279 

2,402 

Hardy, 

Hampshire, 

1786 

1156 

5,700 

2,633 

Jefferson, 

Berkeley, 

1801 

225 

12,927 

4,721 

Kanawha, 

Greenb’r  &  M’tg’ry, 

1789 

2090 

9,334 

1,453 

Lewis, 

Harrison, 

1816 

1754 

6,241 

630 

Logan, 

Giles,  Kanawha,  Ca- 

bell  &  Tazewell, 

1824 

2930 

3,680 

245 

Lee, 

Russell, 

1793 

512 

9,461 

789 

Monongalia, 

District  of  W.  A’g’ta, 

1776 

721 

14,056 

1,492 

Monroe, 

Greenbrier, 

1799 

614 

7,798 

1,158 

Morgan, 

Berkeley  and 

Hampshire, 

1820 

271 

2,702 

546 

Montgomery, 

Fincastle, 

1777 

1089 

12,306 

1,666 

Mason, 

Kanawha, 

1804 

904 

6,534 

915 

Nicholas, 

Kanawha,  Greenbrier 

and  Randolph, 

1818 

1431 

3,338 

373 

Ohio, 

District  of  W.  A’g’ta, 

1776 

375 

15,590 

1,968 

Preston, 

Monongalia, 

1818 

601 

5,144 

441 

Pendleton, 

Augusta,  Hardy  and 

Rockingham, 

1788 

999 

6,271 

1,120 

Pocahontas, 

Bath,  Pendleton  and 

Randolph, 

1821 

794 

2,542 

405 

Randolph, 

Harrison, 

1787 

2061 

5,000 

644 

Russell, 

Washington, 

1786 

1370 

6,717 

739 

Rockingham, 

Augusta, 

1778 

833 

20,663 

5,056 

Rockbridge, 

Augusta  &  Botetourt, 

1778 

680 

14,244 

3,276 

Scott, 

Lee,  Russell  and 

Washington, 

1814 

624 

5,712 

503 

Shehandoah, 

Frederick, 

1772 

767 

19,750 

4,922 

Tyler, 

Ohio, 

1814 

855 

4,308 

757 

Tazewell, 

Russell  &  Wythe, 

1799 

1305 

5,573 

727 

Washington, 

Fincastle, 

1777 

1754 

15,614 

2,918 

Wythe, 

Montgomery, 

1790 

1998 

12,163 

2,178 

Wood, 

Harrison, 

1799 

1223 

6,418 

1,257 

Total, 

378,293 

76,848 

Of  Border  Warfare. 


57 


much  with  different  kinds  of  Game.  In  consequence  of 
this  information  two  men,  recently  from  Hew  England, 
visited  the  country  and  took  up  their  residence  on  the 
Greenbrier  river. 

Having  erected  a  cabin  and  being  engaged  in  making 
some  other  improvements,  an  altercation  arose,  which 
caused  Stephen  Suel,1  one  of  them,  to  forsake  the  cabin 
and  abide  for  some  time  in  a  hollow  tree  not  far  from  the 
improvement,  which  was  still  occupied  by  his  old  com¬ 
panion.  They  were  thus  situated  in  1751,  when  John 
Lewis,  of  Augusta  and  his  son  Andrew  we're  exploring 
the  country;  to  whom  Suel  made  known  the  cause  of  their 
living  apart,  and  the  great  pleasure  which  he  experienced 
now  in  their  morning  salutations,  when  issuing  from  their 
respective  habitations  ;  whereas  when  they  slept  under  the 
same  roof,  none  of  those  kindly  greetings  passed  between 
them.  Suel  however  did  not  long  remain  in  the  vicinity 
of  Martin,  the  other  of  the  two  adventurers ;  he  moved 
forty  miles  west  of  his  first  improvement,  and  soon  after 
fell  a  prey  to  Indian  ferocity.  Martin  is  said  to  have  re¬ 
turned  to  the  settlements. 

There  was  no  other  attempt  made  by  the  whites,  to 
improve  the  Greenbrier  country  for  several  years.  Lewis 
and  his  son  thoroughly  examined  it;  and  when  permission 

1  Little  and  Big  Sewell  mountains,  dividing  Fayette  and  Greenbrier 
•counties,  seem  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  memory  of  this  early  and 
adventurous  pioneer.  Col.  John  Stuart  states,  that  Sewell’s  final  settle¬ 
ment  was  forty  miles  west  of  his  primitive  one,  and  on  a  creek  bear¬ 
ing  his  name  originating  in  Sewell  mountain,  and  flowing  into  Gauley. 
Col.  Preston,  in  his  Register ,  gives  September,  1756,  as  the  date  of  Stephen 
Sewell’s  death  by  the  Indians,  and  Jackson’s  River  as  the  locality. 

Mrs.  Anne  Roy  all,  in  Sketches  of  the  History ,  Life  and  Manners  of  the 
United  States,  (New  Haven,  1826),  p.  60,  who  visited  the  Greenbrier 
country  in  1824,  gives  the  name  of  Carver  as  Sewell’s  companion. 
“  These  two  men,”  says  Mrs.  Royall,  “  lived  in  a  cave  for  several  years, 
but  at  length  they  disagreed  on  the  score  of  religion,  and  occupied  dif¬ 
ferent  camps.  They  took  care,  however,  not  to  stay  far  from  each  other, 
their  camps  being  in  sight.  Sewell  used  to  relate  that  he  and  his  friend 
used  to  sit  up  all  night  without  sleep,  with  their  guns  cocked,  ready  to 
fire  at  each  other.  ‘And  what  could  that  be  for?’  ‘  Why,  because  we 
couldn’t  agree.’  ‘  Only  two  of  you,  and  could  you  not  agree — what  did 
you  quarrel  about?’  ‘Why,  about  re-la-gin.’  One  of  them,  it  seems, 
was  a  Presbyterian,  and  the  other  an  Episcopalian.” — L.  C.  D. 


58 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


was  given  to  the  Greenbrier  company  (of  which  John 
Lewis  was  a  member)  to  locate  100,000  acres,  on  the  waters 
of  this  river,  they  became  agents  to  make  the  surveys  and 
locations.  The  war  between  France  and  England  in  1754 
checked  their  proceedings;  and  when  they,  on  the  restora¬ 
tion  of  peace,  would  have  resumed  them,  they  were  inter¬ 
dicted  by  a  royal  proclamation,  issued  in  1761,  command¬ 
ing  all  those  who  had  made  settlements  on  the  western 
waters  to  remove  from  them;  and  those  who  were  engaged 
in  making  surveys  to  desist.  Sound  policy  requiring,  that 
a  good  understanding  should  be  maintained  with  the  In¬ 
dians  (who  claimed  the  country)  to  prevent  a  further  co¬ 
operation  on  their  part  with  France.1 

Previous  to  the  issuing  of  this  proclamation,  some 
families  had  moved  to  Greenbrier  and  made  two  settle¬ 
ments — the  one  on  Muddy  creek,  the  other  in  the  Big- 
Levels.  These,  disregarding  the  command  of  his  royal 
majesty  and  rather  regardless  of  their  own  safety,  re¬ 
mained  until  they  were  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  in  1763.2 
From  this  time  ’till  1769  Greenbrier  was  altogether  unin¬ 
habited.  Capt.  John  Stuart  and  a  few  other  young  men, 
then  began  to  settle  and  improve  the  country ;  and  al- 

1  An  error  as  to  date.  King  George’s  proclamation  was  dated  Oct. 
7,  1763.  For  full  text,  see  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections ,  XI.,  pp.  46  et 
seq. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Thomas  King,  one  of  the  ablest  of  the  Iroquois  chiefs,  related  an 
incident  at  an  Indian  conference  held  at  Easton,  Pa.,  Oct.  18,  1758, 
which  may  explain  why  the  Indians  evinced  so  much  hostility  against 
the  Greenbrier  settlements.  “About  three  years  ago,”  said  Chief  King, 
“  eight  Seneca  wrarriors  wTere  returning  from  war,  with  seven  prisoners 
and  scalps  with  them ;  and,  at  a  place  called  Greenbrier,  they  met  with 
a  party  of  soldiers,  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty,  who  kindly 
invited  them  to  come  to  a  certain  store,  saying  they  would  supply  them 
with  provisions.  Accordingly  they  travelled  two  days  with  them,  in  a 
friendly  manner,  and  when  they  came  to  the  house,  they  took  their 
arms  from  the  Senecas.  The  head  men  cried  out,  ‘  here  is  death ;  de¬ 
fend  yourselves  as  "well  as  you  can/  which  they  did,  and  two  of  them 
were  killed  on  the  spot,  and  one,  a  young  boy,  was  taken  prisoner. 
This  gave  great  offense ;  and  the  more  so,  as  it  was  upon  the  warrior’s 
road,  and  we  were  in  perfect  peace  with  our  brethren.  It  provoked  us 
to  such  a  degree  that  we  could  not  get  over  it.  He  wished  the  boy  re¬ 
turned,  if  alive ;  and  told  his  name,  Squissatego.”  See  Hazard’s  Penna. 
Register ,  V.,  p.  373;  and  Penna .  Records ,  VIII.,  pp.  197-98. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


59 


though  attempts  were  subsequently  made  by  the  Indians 
to  exterminate  them,  yet  they  ever  after  continued  in  pos¬ 
session  of  it. 

[49]  In  the  year  1756  settlements  were  also  made  on  Hew 
river  and  on  Holstein.1  Among  the  daring  adventurers 
who  effected  them,  were  Evan  Shelby,  William  Campbell, 
William  Preston  and  Daniel  Boone,  all  of  whom  became 
distinguished  characters  in  subsequent  history.  Thomas 
Walden,2  who  was  afterwards  killed  on  Clinch  river  and 

1  There  were  settlers  on  both  New  and  Holston  rivers  prior  to  1756 
— Vause,  Stalnacker  and  others  on  New  River;  and  Stephen  Holston,  at 
least,  on  the  river  bearing  his  name,  which  was  known  as  such  anterior 
to  April,  1748,  when  Dr.  Walker,  in  his  Journal  of  1750,  refers  to  it  by 
that  designation.  But  William  Campbell  did  not  settle  on  Holston  un¬ 
til  1767 ;  Wm.  Preston  settled  in  1769 ;  Evan  Shelby  and  family  in  1771 ; 
and,  while  Daniel  Boone  passed  through  that  country  as  early,  it  is  be¬ 
lieved,  as  1760,  he  never  “  settled  ”  there. 

A  further  notice  of  Stephen  Holston,  or  Holstein,  seems  fitting  in 
this  connection.  He  was  of  an  adventurous  turn,  and  prior  to  1748  had, 
during  a  hunt,  discovered  the  river  named  after  him.  It  wTas  after  this 
discovery  that  he  settled  on  the  Little  Saluda,  near  Saluda  Old  Town,  in 
South  Carolina,  where,  in  the  summer  of  1753,  a  party  of  Cherokees  re¬ 
turning  from  a  visit  to  Gov.  Glen,  at  Charleston,  behaved  so  rudely  to 
Mrs.  Holston,  in  her  husband’s  absence,  as  to  frighten  her  and  her  do¬ 
mestics  away,  fleeing  several  miles  to  the  nearest  settlement,  when  the 
house  was  robbed  of  utensils  and  corn,  and  two  valuable  horses  were 
also  taken.  Holston  and  some  of  his  neighbors  settled  on  Holston’s 
River,  in  what  subsequently. became  Botetourt  county:  soon  after  this, 
they  constructed  canoes,  and  passed  down  the  Holston  into  the'  Tennes¬ 
see  River,  through  the  Muscle  Shoals,  and  down  the  Ohio  and  Missis¬ 
sippi  as  far  as  Natchez.  Returning  from  this  notable  adventure,  his 
name  became  fixed  to  the  noble  stream  which  he  discovered,  and  upon 
which  he  made  the  primitive  settlement.  His  location  on  Holston  was 
at  the  head  spring  of  the  Middle  Fork;  his  log  cabin  was  on  the  hill 
side  some  thirty  rods  from  the  spring.  In  1774,  one  Davis  occupied  the 
place,  and  related  that  Holston  had  left  several  years  before  that  date. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war  in  1754,  he  seems  to  have  retired 
■with  his  family  to  Culpeper  county,  which  was  then  not  exempt  from 
Indian  forays;  and  Holston,  about  1757,  was  captured  by  the  Indians. 
But  in  due  time  he  returned  to  the  Holston  country,  served  in  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  Point  Pleasant  in  1774,  on  Christian’s  campaign  against  the  Cher¬ 
okees  in  1776,  and  was  reported  in  service  in  1776  or  1777.  As  we  hear 
no  more  of  him,  he  probably  did  not  long  survive  after  this  period. — 
L.  C.  D. 

2  The  first  name  of  Walden  was  not  Thomas — Elisha  Walden  was 
his  proper  name.  He  was  a  son-in-law  of  William  Blevins,  and  both 


60 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


from  whom  the  mountain  dividing  Clinch  and  Powel 
rivers  derived  its  name,  was  likewise  one  of  them.  The 
lands  taken  up  by  them,  were  held  as  “  corn  rights  ” — each 
acquiring  a  title  to  an  hundred  acres  of  the  adjoining  land, 
for  every  acre  planted  in  corn. 

Nearly  cotemporaneous  with  these  establishments,  was 
that  at  Galliopolis,  on  the  north  western  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
and  below  Point  Pleasant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Ken- 
hawa.  This  was  made  by  a  party  of  French  Jesuits,  by 
whom  the  Indians  were  incited  to  make  incursions,  and 
commit  the  most  enormous  barbarities  on  the  then  front¬ 
iers.* 1  This  place  and  the  mouth  of  Great  Sandy  were  the 
chief  points  of  rendezvous  for  the  Ohio  Indians.  From 

Malden  and  Blevins  lived,  in  1774,  at  the  “  Round-About  ”  on  Smith’s 
River,  two  miles  east  of  what  is  now  Martinsville,  Henry  county,  Vir¬ 
ginia.  He  was  then  about  forty  years  of  age,  nearly  six  feet  in  height, 
a  rough  frontiersman,  and  a  noted  hunter.  He  and  several  others,  in 
1761,  penetrated  into  Powell’s  Valley,  naming  Walden’s  Mountain  and 
Walden’s  Creek,  and  proceeded  on  through  Cumberland  Gap  to  Cum¬ 
berland  River,  and  a  few  miles  beyond  to  the  Laurel  Mountain,  where 
meeting  a  party  of  Indians,  they  returned.  In  subsequent  years,  Wal¬ 
den  settled  on  Holston,  about  eighteen  miles  above  Knoxville,  where 
he  was  residing  in  1796 ;  a  few  years  later,  he  removed  to  Powell’s  Val¬ 
ley,  but  soon  after  migrated  to  Missouri,  where  he  lived  hunting  up  to 
extreme  old  age.  Save  what  is  related  from  Haywood’s  Hist,  of  Tennes¬ 
see  about  the  trip  of  1761,  this  information  was  communicated  to  the 
writer  in  1849,  hy  Maj.  John  Redd,  of  Henry  county,  Va.,  who  person¬ 
ally  knew  the  old  hunter  very  well. — L.  C.  D. 

1  A  curious  misconception,  this.  Some  of  the  founders  of  Marietta 
acquired  in  1788  a  large  tract  wrest  and  north  of  their  own,  and  as  a  pri¬ 
vate  speculation  organized  the  Scioto  Company.  Joel  Barlow,  the  poet, 
wras  sent  to  Paris  to  negotiate  the  sale  of  the  lands.  To  the  “  Society  of 
the  Scioto,”  formed  by  him  there,  he  sold  three  million  acres,  and  France 
was  deluged  with  rose-colored  immigration  pamphlets  written  by  Bar- 
low'.  In  February,  1790,  six  hundred  Frenchmen — chiefly  professional 
men  and  small  artisans  from  the  large  towns,  with  not  an  agriculturist 
among  them — arrived  in  Alexandria,  Va.,  en  route  for  the  Scioto.  They 
found  that  the  Society,  not  having  paid  for  its  lands,  had  forfeited 
its  rights,  and  deeds  granted  to  the  intending  settlers  were  void. 
Five  hundred  finally  went  wTest,  and  founded  Gallipolis.  Poor,  not 
knowing  how  to  work  the  soil,  and  simple  folk  with  no  notions  of 
independence,  they  suffered  from  famine,  Indians,  and  yellow  fever. 
They  finally  repurchased  their  lands,  and  upon  the  cessation  of  the  bor¬ 
der  w'ar  gained  some  strength ;  but  Gallipolis  was  never  more  than  a 
weakling  until  Americans  and  Germans  came  in  and  put  it  on  its  feet. 
— R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


61 


the  former  of  these  places  they  would  ascend  the  Kenhawa 
and  Greenbrier  rivers,  and  from  thence  crossing  the  mount¬ 
ains  enter  into  Augusta;  or  after  having  ascended  the 
Kenhawa,  go  up  the  Kew  river,  from  which  they  would 
pass  over  to  the  James  and  Roanoke.  From  the  mouth 
of  Great  Sandy  they  would  ascend  that  river,  and  by  the 
wray  of  Bluestone  fall  over  on  the  Roanoke  and  Kew  river. 
From  those  two  points,  expeditions  were  frequently  made 
by  the  Indians,  which  brought  desolation  and  death  into 
the  infant  settlements  of  the  south  west,  and  retarded  their 
growth  very  much.  In  the  spring  of  1757  nearly  the  whole 
Roanoke  settlement  was  destroyed  by  a  party  of  Shaw- 
anees,  who  had  thus  made  their  way  to  it. 

That  portion  of  the  valley  of  Virginia  in  which  estab¬ 
lishments  were  thus  begun  to  be  made,  was  at  that  time 
one  continued  forest;  overspreading  a  limestone  soil  of 
great  fertility ;  and  intersected  by  rivers  affording  exten¬ 
sive  bottoms  of  the  most  productive  alluvial  land.  Indeed 
few  rivers  of  equal  size,  are  bordered  with  as  wide  and 
fertile  levels  of  this  formation  of  earth,  as  those  which 
water  that  section  of  country:  the  Roanoke  particularly 
affords  large  bodies  of  it,  capable  of  producing  in  great 
abundance  hemp,  tobacco  and  the  different  kinds  of  grain 
usually  grown.  In  the  country  generally,  every  species  of 
vegetable,  to  which  the  climate  was  congenial,  grew  with 
great  luxuriancy;  while  the  calcareous  nature  of  the  soil, 
adapted  it  finely  to  the  production  of  that  kind  of  grain,  to 
which  European  emigrants  were  mostly  used. 

The  natural  advantages  of  the  country  were  highly 
improved  by  the  persevering  industry  of  its  inhabitants. 
Its  forests,  felled  by  untiring  labor,  were  quickly  reduced 
to  profitable  cultivation,  and  the  weeds  which  spontane¬ 
ously  sprang  from  the  earth,  were  soon  succeeded  by  the 
various  grasses  calculated  to  furnish  the  most  nutritious 
food,  for  the  lowing  herds  with  which  their  farmers  were 
early  stocked ;  these  yielded  a  present  profit,  and  laid  the 
sure  foundation  [50]  of  future  wealth.  Some  of  the  most 
extensive  and  successful  graziers  of  Virginia,  now  inhabit 
that  country ;  and  reap  the  rich  reward  of  their  manage- 


62 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


ment  and  industry,  in  the  improved  and  more  contiguous 
market  of  Richmond. 

In  the  infancy  of  these  establishments,  their  only 
market  was  at  Williamsburg.  Thither  the  early  settlers 
packed  their  butter  and  poultry,  and  received  in  exchange 
salt,  iron,  and  some  of  the  luxuries  of  life;  their  beef  and 
other  stock  was  taken  to  the  same  place.  In  the  process 
of  time,  as  the  country  east  of  the  Blue  ridge  became 
more  improved,  other  markets  were  opened  to  them  ;  and 
the  facilities  of  communication  were  gradually  increased. 
Their  successors  have  already  derived  great  advantage 
from  those  improvements;  and  the  present  generation  will 
not  only  witness  their  farther  extension,  but  most  prob¬ 
ably  see  the  country  first  tenanted  by  Lewis  and  his  co¬ 
temporaries,  a  great  thoroughfare  for  the  produce  of  sev¬ 
eral  of  the  western  states — a  link  of  communication 
between  the  Chesapeak  bay  and  the  Gulph  of  Mexico. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


63 


[51]  CHAPTER  II. 

The  tract  of  country  usually  denominated  North 
Western  Virginia,  includes  the  counties  of  Brook,  Ohio, 
Tyler,  Wood,  Lewis,  Randolph,  Preston,  Harrison  and 
Monongalia,  covering  an  area  of  8,887  square  miles,  and 
having  a  population,  according  to  the  census  of  1830,  of 
78,510  souls.  These  counties,  with  a  portion  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  then  deemed  to  he  within  the  limits  of  Virginia, 
constituted  the  district  of  West  Augusta;  and  was  the 
last  grand  division  of  the  state,  to  become  occupied  by  the 
whites.  This  was  perhaps  owing  to  natural  causes,  as  well 
as  to  the  more  immediate  proximity  of  hostile  Indians. 

The  general  surface  of  this  district  of  country  is  very 
broken,  its  hills,  though  rich,  are  yet  steep  and  precipitous, 
and  the  various  streams  which  flow  along  their  bases,  af¬ 
ford  but  few  bottoms ;  and  these  of  too  narrow  and  con¬ 
tracted  dimensions  to  have  attacted  the  adventurer,  when 
more  invited  portions  of  the  country,  were  alike  open  to 
his  enterprise. — The  Alleghany  ridge  of  mountains,  over 
which  the  eastern  emigrant  had  to  pass,  presented  too,  no 
inconsiderable  barrier  to  its  earlier  location  ;  while  the 
cold,  bleak,  inhospitable  region,  extending  from  the  North 
Branch  to  the  Cheat  and  Valley  rivers,  seemed  to  threaten 
an  entire  seclusion  from  the  eastern  settlements,  and  to 
render  it  an  isolated  spot,  not  easily  connected  with  any 
other  section  of  the  state. 

The  first  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  English  to  occupy 
the  country  contiguous  to  the  Ohio  river,  was  made  in 
consequence  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  French  to 
possess  themselves  of  it.  France  had  early  become  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  country,  so  far  as  to  perceive  the  facility 
with  which  her  possessions  in  the  north,  might,  by  means 
of  a  free  communication  down  the  valley  of  the  Missis¬ 
sippi,  be  connected  with  those  in  the  south.  To  preserve 
this  communication  uninterrupted,  to  acquire  influence 


64 


Withers's  Chronicles 


over  the  neighboring  Indians  and  to  prevent  the  occupancy 
and  settlement  by  England  of  the  country  west  [52]  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains,  the  French  were  early  induced 
to  establish  trading  posts  among  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio, 
and  to  obtain  and  preserve  possession  of  the  country  by 
the  erection  of  a  chain  of  forts  to  extend  from  Canada  to 
Louisiana.1 

To  counteract  those  operations  of  the  French,  to  pos¬ 
sess  herself  of  the  country,  to  which  she  deemed  her  title 
to  he  good,  and  to  enjoy  the  lucrative  traffic  which  was 
then  to  be  carried  on  with  the  Indians,  England  gave  to 
an  association  of  gentlemen  in  Great  Britain  and  Vir¬ 
ginia,  (under  the  title  of  the  Ohio  Company,)  liberty  to 
locate  and  hold  in  their  own  right,  600,000  acres  of  land 
within  the  country  then  claimed  by  both  England  and 
France.  In  pursuance  of  this  grant,  steps  were  directly 
taken  to  eflect  those  objects,  by  establishing  trading 
houses  among  the  Indians  near  the  Ohio,  and  by  engaging 
persons  to  make  such  a  survey  of  the  country,  as  would 
enable  the  grantees  to  effect  a  location  of  the  quantity  al¬ 
lowed  them,  out  of  the  most  valuable  lands.  The  com- 

1  This  is  misleading.  The  author  has  told  us,  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  of  several  attempts  of  English  coast  colonists  to  make  trans- 
montane  settlements,  quite  apart  from  thought  of  ousting  the  French. 
Englishmen  had  no  sooner  landed  in  America  than  they  attempted  to 
cross  the  western  mountain  barrier.  Ralph  Lane  made  the  attempt  in 
1586,  Christopher  Newport  and  John  Smith  in  1606,  and  Newport  him¬ 
self  in  1607.  John  Lederer,  a  German  surgeon  exploring  for  Governor 
Berkeley,  of  Virginia,  reached  the  top  of  Blue  Ridge  in  1669,  but  did 
not  descend  the  western  slope.  Two  years  later,  Abraham  Wood  dis¬ 
covered  the  Great  Kanawha.  It  is  possible  that  the  French  Jesuit  Le 
Moyne  was  on  the  Alleghany  River  as  early  as  1656.  La  Salle  was 
probably  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  (Louisville)  in  1669.  But  it  wras  not 
until  about  1700  that  French  and  English  fur-traders  met  in  open 
rivalry  on  the  Ohio.  It  was  with  no  thought  of  the  French  that  Gov¬ 
ernor  Spottswood,  of  Virginia,  passed  over  the  Blue  Ridge  in  1714.  The 
situation  in  short,  was  this:  The  English  colonists  early  wanted  the 
over-mountain  country  -watered  by  the  Ohio,  but  were  too  weak  at  first 
to  hold  for  agricultural  settlement  lands  so  far  from  home,  in  the  face 
of  a  savage  foe.  The  French  wanted  the  valley  solely  for  the  fur  trade, 
but  Iroquois  opposition  long  kept  them  from  entering;  when  at  last 
they  were  able  to  do  so,  the  English  colonists  had  also  grown  strong 
enough  to  move  in,  and  then  ensued  the  long  and  bloody  struggle 
in  which  New  France  fell. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


65 


pany  endeavored  to  complete  their  survey  with  all  possi¬ 
ble  secrecy,  and  by  inducing  the  Indians  to  believe  their 
object  to  be  purely  commercial,  to  allay  any  apprehen¬ 
sions,  which  might  otherwise  arise,  of  an  attempt  to  gain 
possession  of  the  country. 

The  attempt  to  accomplish  their  purpose  of  terri¬ 
torial  aggrandizement,  with  secrecy,  was  fruitless  and  un¬ 
availing. — The  Pennsylvania  traders,  fearful  that  they 
would  lose  the  profitable  commerce  carried  on  writh  the 
Indians,  excited  their  jealousy  by  acquainting  them  with 
the  real  motive  of  the  company;  while  the  French  actu¬ 
ally  seized,  and  made  prisoners,  of  their  traders,  and 
opened  and  secured,  by  detachments  of  troops  stationed 
at  convenient  situations,  a  communication  from  Presq’ 
Isle  to  the  Ohio  river. 

The  Ohio  company  sent  a  party  of  men  to  erect  a 
stockade  fort  at  the  confluence  of  the  Monongahela  and 
Alleghany  rivers,  wdiich  had  been  recommended  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Washington  as  a  suitable  position  for  the  erection 
of  fortifications.1  This  party  of  men  was  accompanied 
by  a  detachment  of  militia,  which  had  been  ordered  out 
by  the  governor;  but  before  they  could  effect  their  object, 
they  were  driven  off*  by  the  French,  [53]  who  immedi¬ 
ately  took  possession  of  the  place,  and  erected  thereon 
Fort  du  Quesne.  These  transactions  were  immediately 
succeeded  by  the  war,  usually  called  Braddock’s  war,  which 
put  an  end  to  the  contemplated  settlement,  and  the  events 
of  which  are,  for  the  most  part,  matter  of  general  history. 
It  may  not  however  be  amiss  to  relate  some  incidents 
connected  with  this  war,  which  though  of  minor  import¬ 
ance,  may  yet  be  interesting  to  some ;  and  which  have 
escaped  the  pen  of  the  historian. 

In  Braddock’s  army  there  were  two  regiments  of  vol¬ 
unteer  militia  from  Virginia.2  One  of  these  was  com- 

1  In  the  journal  (drawn  up  for  the  inspection  of  Gov.  Dinwiddie)  of 
the  events  of  his  mission  to  the  commander  of  the  French  forces  on  the 
Ohio ;  this  was  the  first  of  those  splendid  acts  of  a  public  nature,  per¬ 
formed  by  Gen.  Washington. 

2  Only  five  companies  of  the  first  Virginia  regiment  served  on  Brad- 


66 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


manded  by  Col.  Russel  of  Fairfax;  the  other  by  Col.  Fry, 
and  was  from  Shenandoah  and  James  rivers.  In  this 
latter  regiment  there  was  a  company  from  Culpep¬ 
per,  commanded  by  Capt.  Grant,  (afterwards  known  as 
a  considerable  land  holder  in  Kentucky)  and  of  which 
John  Field  (who  was  killed  in  the  battle  at  Point  Pleas¬ 
ant)  was  a  lieutenant.  There  was  likewise  in  this  regi¬ 
ment,  a  company  of  riflemen,  from  Augusta,  commanded 
by  Capt.  Samuel  Lewis,  (the  eldest  son  of  John  Lewis, 
who,  with  Mackey  and  Sailing,  had  been  foremost  in 
settling  that  country)  who  was  afterwards  known  as  Col. 
Samuel  Lewis  of  Rockingham.* 1  In  this  company  was 
also  contained  the  five  brothers  of  Capt.  Lewis.  Andrew, 
afterwards  Gen.  Lewis  of  Botetourt — Charles,  afterwards 
Col.  Lewis,  who  was  likewise  killed  at  Point  Pleasant — 
William,  John  and  Thomas.  Among  their  compatri¬ 
ots  in  arms,  were  the  five  sons  of  Capt.  John  Matthews, 
(who  had  accompanied  Burden  to  Virginia)  Elihu  Bark¬ 
ley,  John  McDowell,2  Paul  Whitly,  James  Bell,  Patrick 
Lockard,  and  a  number  of  others  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Augusta,  Rockbridge  and  Rockingham. 

From  the  time  the  army  crossed  the  Alleghany  moun¬ 
tain,  its  movements  were  constantly  watched  by  Indian 

dock’s  campaign — hence  there  was  no  second  regiment,  nor  any  Colonel 
Russell  engaged  in  that  service  ;  there  wTas,  however,  at  this  period,  a 
Colonel  or  Lieut.-Colonel  William  Russell,  who  emigrated  from  England 
when  a  young  lawyer,  to  Virginia,  about  1710,  and  settled  in  Culpeper, 
and  by  the  readjustment  of  county  lines  he  was  thrown  into  the  new 
county  of  Orange.  He  was  a  man  of  much  prominence,  and  at  one 
time  was  high  sheriff  of  Orange ;  and  apparently  lieutenant-colonel  of 
militia,  and  as  such,  in  the  early  part  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
did  some  frontier  service,  though  rather  advanced  in  years  at  the  time. 
In  1753,  he  was  sent  as  a  commissioner  to  pacify  the  Indians  in  the  re¬ 
gion  where  Pittsburg  was  subsequently  located.  He  died  October  18, 
1757,  aged  about  seventy-two  years.  His  son  of  the  same  name  served 
with  reputation  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  and  during  the  Revolu¬ 
tionary  War,  retiring  at  its  close  with  the  brevet  rank  of  brigadier- 
general. — L.  C.  D. 

1  It  has  already  been  stated  that  Col.  John  Lewis’s  eldest  son  was 
Thomas,  not  Samuel. — L.  C.  D. 

2  Capt.  John  McDowell  was  killed  in  an  engagement  with  the  In¬ 
dians,  in  December,  1742,  and  of  course  could  not  have  served  under 
either  Andrew  or  Charles  Lewis. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


67 


spies,  from  Fort  du  Quesne;  and  as  it  approached  nearer 
the  point  of  destination,  runners  were  regularly  des¬ 
patched,  to  acquaint  the  garrison  with  its  progress,  and 
manner  of  marching. —  When  intelligence  was  received 
that  Braddock  still  moved  in  close  order,  the  Indians  laid 
the  plan  for  surprising  him,  and  carried  it  into  most 
-effectual  execution  with  but  little  assistance  from  the 
French.1 

[54]  At  the  place  where  the  English  crossed  the  Mo- 
nongahela  river,  there  are  about  two  acres  of  bottom  land, 
bounded  by  the  river  on  the  east,  and  by  a  ledge  of  high 
cliffs  on  the  west.  Through  these  cliffs  there  is  a  con¬ 
siderable  ravine,  formed  by  the  flowing  of  a  small  rivu¬ 
let — On  the  summit,  a  wide  prospect  opens  to  the  west, 
of  a  country  whose  base  is  level,  but  surface  uneven.  On 
this  summit  lay  the  French  and  Indians  concealed  by  the 
prairie  grass  and  timber,  and  from  this  situation,  in  al¬ 
most  perfect  security,  they  fired  down  upon  Braddock’s  men. 
The  only  exposure  of  the  French  and  Indians,  resulted 
from  the  circumstance  of  their  having  to  raise  their  heads 
to  peep  over  the  verge  of  the  cliff,  in  order  to  shoot  with 
more  deadly  precision.  In  consequence,  all  of  them  who 
were  killed  in  the  early  part  of  the  action,  were  shot 
through  the  head.2 

1  James  Smith,  afterwards  Col.  Smith  of  Bourbon  county  in  Ken¬ 
tucky,  was  then  a  prisoner  at  du  Quesne.  He  says  that  the  Indians 
in  council  planned  the  attack  on  Braddock’s  army  and  selected  the 
ground  from  which  to  make  it — that  the  assailants  did  not  number  more 
than  400  men,  of  whom  but  a  small  proportion  were  French.  One  of 
the  Indians  laughed  when  he  heard  the  order  of  march  in  Braddock’s 
army,  and  said  “we’ll  shoot  them  down  all  as  one  pigeon.”  Washing¬ 
ton  beheld  the  event  in  fearful  anticipation,  and  exerted  himself  in  vain 
with  Gen.  Braddock,  to  alter  the  order  of  march. 

2  It  is  evident  that  the  author  never  saw  the  site  of  Braddock’s  de¬ 
feat,  just  below  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  for  his  description  is  quite 
inaccurate.  June  30, 1755,  the  army,  which  had  been  following  the  Ohio 
Company’s  road  from  Will’s  Creek,  via  East  Meadows,  crossed  the 
Youghiogheny  and  proceeding  in  a  devious  course  struck  the  head  of 
Turtle  Creek,  which  was  followed  nearly  to  its  mouth,  whence  a  south¬ 
ern  course  was  taken  to  avoid  the  steep  hills.  Reaching  the  Mononga- 
hela  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Youghiogheny,  they  crossed  (July  9)  to 
the  west  side,  where  there  is  a  long,  narrow  bottom.  Nearly  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  and  about  four  miles  below  the  first  crossing, 


68 


Withers's  Chronicles 


The  companies,  commanded  by  Capt.  Grant  and  Lewis,* 1 
were  the  first  to  cross  the  river.  As  fast  as  they  landed 
they  formed,  and  proceeding  up  the  ravine,  arrived  at  the 
plain  on  the  head  of  the  rivulet,  without  having  discovered 
the  concealed  enemy  which  they  had  just  passed.  So  soon 
as  the  rear  of  Braddock’s  army  had  crossed  the  river,  the 
enemy  raised  a  heart  rending  yell,  and  poured  down  a  con¬ 
stant  and  most  deadly  fire.  Before  General  Braddock  re¬ 
ceived  his  wound,  he  gave  orders  for  the  whole  line  to 
countermarch  and  form  a  phalanx  on  the  bottom,  so  as  to 
cover  their  retreat  across  the  river.  When  the  main  col¬ 
umn  was  wheeled,  Grant’s  and  Lewis’  companies  had  pro¬ 
ceeded  so  far  in  advance,  that  a  large  body  of  the  enemy 
rushed  down  from  both  sides  of  the  ravine,  and  intercepted 

hills  again  closely  approach  the  west  bank,  and  the  east  side  becomes 
the  more  favorable  for  marching.  Here,  only  eight  miles  across  country 
from  Fort  Duquesne,  Braddock  forded  the  second  time,  and  in  angling 
up  the  rather  easy  slope  upon  which  is  now  built  the  busy  iron-making 
town  of  Braddock,  Pa.,  was  obliged  to  pass  through  a  heavily-wooded 
ravine.  This  was  the  place  of  the  ambuscade*  where  his  army  was  cut  to 
pieces.  Indians  from  the  Upper  Lakes,  under  the  leadership  of  Charles 
Langlade,  a  Wisconsin  fur-trader,  were  the  chief  participants  in  this  af¬ 
fair,  on  the  French  side. — R.  G.  T. 

1  This  statement  about  Capts.  Grant  and  Lewis  having  taken  part 
in  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela,  is  altogether  a  mistake.  It  must  have 
originated  in  some  traditional  account,  and  become  confused  in  some 
way  with  Grant’s  defeat,  three  years  later,  in  which  Maj.  James  Grant  and 
Maj.  Andrew  Lewis  both  took  a  prominent  part.  There  is  no  record  of 
any  Capt.  Grant  in  Braddock’s  army.  Andrew  Lewis,  though  a  major,  was 
still  in  command  of  his  company,  and  at  the  time  of  Braddook’s  defeat 
was  on  detached  service.  Gov.  Dinwiddie,  writing  to  Maj.  Lewis,  July 
8,  1755,  says:  “You  were  ordered  to  Augusta  with  your  company  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  frontier  of  that  county;”  and,  in  a  letter  of  the  same  date,  to 
Col.  Patton,  the  Governor  adds:  “Enclosed  you  have  a  letter  to  Capt. 
Lewis,  which  please  forward  to  him  :  I  think  he  is  at  Greenbrier.  Capt. 
Robt.  Orme,  aide-de-camp  to  Gen.  Braddock,  in  his  Journal  appended 
to  Sargent’s  History  of  Braddock's  Expedition,  states  under  date  of  April, 
1755,  that  the  Virginia  troops  having  been  clothed,  were  ordered  to 
march  to  Winchester,  for  arming  and  drilling,  and  then  adds:  “Capt. 
Lewis  was  ordered  with  his  company  of  Rangers  to  Greenbrier  river, 
there  to  build  two  stockade  forts,  in  one  of  which  he  was  to  remain  him¬ 
self  and  to  detach  to  the  other  a  subaltern  and  fifteen  men.  These  forts 
were  to  cover  the  western  settlers  of  Virginia  from  any  inroads  of  In¬ 
dians.” — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


69 


them.  A  most  deadly  contest  ensued.  Those  who  inter¬ 
cepted  Grant  and  Lewis,  could  not  pass  down  the  defile, 
as  the  main  body  of  Braddock's  army  was  there,  and  it 
would  have  been  rushing  into  the  midst  of  it,  to  inevita¬ 
ble  destruction — the  sides  of  the  ravine  were  too  steep  and 
rocky  to  admit  of  a  retreat  up  them,  and  their  only  hope  of 
escape  lay  in  cutting  down  those  two  companies  and  passing 
[55]  out  at  the  head  of  the  ravine.  A  dreadful  slaughter 
was  the  consequence.  Opposed  in  close  fight,  and  with 
no  prospect  of  security,  but  by  joining  the  main  army  in 
the  bottom,  the  companies  of  Grant  and  Lewis  literally 
cut  their  way  through  to  the  mouth  of  the  ravine.  Many 
of  Lewis’s  men  were  killed  and  wounded,  and  not  more 
than  half  of  Grant’s  lived  to  reach  the  river  bank.  Al¬ 
most  the  only  loss  the  enemy  sustained  was  in  this  con¬ 
flict. 

The  unfortunate  result  of  the  campaign  of  1755,  gave 
to  the  French  a  complete  ascendency  over  the  Indians  on 
the  Ohio.  In  consequence  of  this  there  was  a  general  dis¬ 
tress  on  the  frontier  settlements  of  Virginia.  The  incur¬ 
sions  of  the  Indians  became  more  frequent  and  were  ex¬ 
tended  so  far,  that  apprehensions  existed  of  an  irruption 
into  the  country  east  of  the  Blue  ridge.1  This  state  of 
things  continued  until  the  capture  of  Fort  du  Quesne  in 
1758,  by  Gen.  Forbes. 

In  the  regiment  commanded  by  Washington  in  the 
army  of  1758,  Andrew  Lewis  was  a  Major.  With  this 
gentleman,  Gen.  Washington  had  become  acquainted  dur¬ 
ing  the  campaign  of  1754,  and  had  formed  of  him,  as  a 
military  man,  the  highest  expectations;  his  conduct  at  the 
defeat  of  Major  Grant,  realized  those  expectations,  and 
acquired  for  him  a  reputation  for  prudence  and  courage 
which  he  sustained  unimpaired,  during  a  long  life  of  pub¬ 
lic  service.2 


1  The  MS.  Journal  of  Col.  Charles  Lewis,  in  possession  of  the  Wis¬ 
consin  Historical  Society,  covering  the  period  from  October  10  to  Decem¬ 
ber  27,  1755,  is  an  unconsciously  eloquent  picture  of  the  hardships  of 
life  on  the  Virginia  frontier,  at  this  time. — R.  G.  T. 

2  After  the  capitulation  of  Fort  Necessity,  and  while  some  of  the 
soldiers  of  each  army  were  intermixed,  an  Irishman,  exasperated  with 


70 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Gen.  Lewis  was  in  person  upwards  of  six  feet  high, 
finely  proportioned,  of  uncommon  strength  and  great 
activity.  His  countenance  was  stern  and  rather  forbid¬ 
ding — his  deportment  distant  and  reserved;  this  rendered 
his  person  more  awful  than  engaging.  When  he  was  at 
Fort  Stanwich  in  1768,  as  one  of  the  commissioners  from 
the  colony  of  Virginia,  to  treat,  in  conjunction  with  com¬ 
missioners  from  the  eastern  colonies,  with  the  Six 
Nations,  the  Governor  of  New  York  remarked  “that  the 
earth  seemed  to  tremble  under  his  tread.” 

When  the  war  of  the  revolution  commenced,  and 
General  [56]  Washington  was  commissioned  commander 
in  chief,  he  is  said  to  have  expressed  a  wish,  that  the  ap¬ 
pointment  had  been  given  to  Gen.  Lewis.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  it  is  certain  that  he  accepted  the  commission  of 
Brigadier  General  at  the  solicitation  of  Washington;  and 
when,  from  wounded  pride*  1  and  a  shattered  constitution, 
he  was  induced  to  express  an  intention  of  resigning,  Gen. 
Washington  wrote  him,  entreating  that  he  would  not  do 
so,  and  assuring  him  that  justice  should  he  done,  as  re¬ 
garded  his  rank.  Gen.  Lewis,  however,  had  become  much 
reduced  by  disease,  and  did  not  think  himself  able,  longer 
to  endure  the  hardships  of  a  soldier’s  life — he  resigned  his 
commission  in  1780,  and  died  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  on 
the  way  to  his  home  in  Botetourt  on  Roanoke  river. 

When  Major  Grant,  (who  had  been  sent  with  a  de¬ 
tachment  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitering  the  country 
about  Fort  du  Quesne,)  arrived  in  view  of  it,  he  resolved 
on  attempting  its  reduction.  Major  Lewis  remonstrated 
with  him,  on  the  propriety  of  that  course,  and  endeavored 
to  dissuade  him  from  the  attempt.  Grant  deemed  it 
practicable  to  surprise  the  garrison  and  effect  an  easy  con- 

an  Indian  near  him,  “cursed  the  copper-coloured  scoundrel”  and 
raised  his  musket  to  shoot  him.  Gen.  Lewis  who  had  been  twice 
wounded  in  the  engagement,  and  wras  then  hobbling  on  a  staff,  raised 
the  Irishman’s  gun,  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  firing,  and  thus  not  only- 
saved  the  life  of  the  Indian,  but  probably  prevented  a  general  massacre 
of  the  Virginia  troops. 

1  Congress  had  given  to  Gen.  Stephens,  and  some  others  (whose 
senior  Lewis  had  been  in  former  services)  commissions  as  Major  Gen¬ 
erals. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


71 


quest,  and  was  unwilling  that  the  provincial  troops  should 
divide  with  his  Highland  regulars  the  glory  of  the  achiev- 
ment — he  therefore  ordered  Major  Lewis  two  miles  into 
the  rear,  with  that  part  of  the  Virginia  regiment  then 
under  his  command. 

Soon  after  the  action  had  commenced,  Lewis  dis¬ 
covered  by  the  retreating  fire,  that  Grant  was  in  an  un¬ 
pleasant  situation,  and  leaving  Capt.  Bullet  with  fifty 
men  to  guard  the  baggage,  hastened  to  his  relief.  On 
arriving  at  the  battle  ground,  and  finding  Grant  and  his 
detachment  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  who  had  passed 
his  rear  under  covert  of  the  banks  of  the  Alleghany  and 
Monongahela  rivers,  Major  Lewis  commenced  a  brisk  fire 
and  made  so  vigorous  an  attack  on  the  Indians  as  to  open 
a  passage  through  which  Grant  and  some  few  of  his  men 
effected  an  escape.  Lewis  and  his  brave  provincials  be¬ 
came  enclosed  within  the  Indian  lines  and  suffered  dread¬ 
fully.  Out  of  eight  officers  five  were  killed,  a  sixth 
wounded  and  a  seventh  taken  prisoner.  Capt.  Bullet, 
[57]  who  defended  the  baggage  with  great  bravery  and 
contributed  much  to  save  the  remnant  of  the  detachment, 
was  the  only  officer  who  escaped  unhurt.1  Out  of  one 

1  Thomas  Bullitt  was  a  native  of  Prince  William  county,  Virginia. 
He  was  appointed  an  ensign  in  Washington’s  first  Virginia  regiment, 
July  20,  1754,  and  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy  on  October  30th  following. 
It  is  said  that  he  served  in  Braddock’s  defeat;  but  the  records  of  the 
Virginia  officers  present  do  not  include  Lieut.  Bullitt’s  name.  He  was, 
perhaps,  with  Capt.  Lewis  in  the  Greenbrier  country,  or  on  some  other 
detached  service.  In  May,  1756,  he  was  stationed  at  Winchester;  in 
July  following,  in  command  of  Fort  Frederick,  on  Jackson’s  Fiver,  and 
in  November  of  that  year,  in  command  of  Fort  Cumberland.  He  was 
in  active  service  in  1757,  and  early  the  next  year  we  find  him  a  captain; 
as  such,  he  distinguished  himself  in  checking  the  enemy  and  saving 
many  of  the  fugitives  at  Grant’s  defeat,  and  shared  in  Gen.  Forbes’s 
successful  expedition  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Du  Quesne.  In  May,  1759, 
while  guarding  with  one  hundred  men,  fifteen  wagons  loaded  with  pro¬ 
visions  for  the  westward,  he  was  attacked  and  defeated  by  a  strong  party 
of  French  and  Indians,  losing  thirty-five  of  his  party  killed  and  prison¬ 
ers  and  all  his  wagons.  In  1760,  he  was  appointed  a  surveyor  of  a  dis¬ 
trict  bordering  on  the  Ohio,  and  had  much  to  do  in  early  Kentucky  ex¬ 
ploration  and  surveys,  making  an  early  location  and  survey  at  the  Falls 
of  Ohio  in  1773.  In  September,  1775,  he  was  appointed  adjutant-gen¬ 
eral  of  all  the  Virginia  forces;  and  on  the  9th  of  December  following, 


Withers's  Chronicles 


hundred  and  sixty-six  men,  sixty-two  were  killed  on  the 
spot  and  two  were  wounded. 

Major  Lewis  was  himself  made  prisoner ;  and  al¬ 
though  stripped  by  the  Indians  of  every  article  of  his 
clothing,  and  reduced  to  perfect  nudity,  he  was  protected 
from  bodily  injury  by  a  French  officer,  who  took  him  to 
his  tent  and  supplied  him  with  clothes.  Grant  who  had 
wandered  all  night  with  five  or  six  of  his  men,  came  in,  on 
the  morning  after  the  engagement,  and  surrendered  him¬ 
self  a  prisoner  of  war. 

While  Grant  and  Lewis  were  prisoners,  the  former 
addressed  a  letter  to  Gen.  Forbes  giving  a  detailed  account 
of  the  engagement  and  attributing  the  defeat  to  the  ill 
conduct  of  the  latter.  This  letter,  (being  inspected  by  the 
French  who  knew  the  falsehood  of  the  charge  it  contained) 
■was  handed  to  Maj.  Lewis.  Exasperated  at  this  charge, 
Lewis  waited  on  Major  Grant  and  in  the  interview  be¬ 
tween  them,  after  having  bestowed  on  him  some  abusive 
epithets,  challenged  him  to  the  field.  Grant  declined  to 
accept  the  invitation ;  and  Lewis,  after  spitting  in  his  face 
in  the  presence  of  several  of  the  French  officers,  left  him 
to  reflect  on  his  baseness. 

After  this  defeat  a  council  was  held  by  the  Indians 
to  determine  on  the  course  proper  for  them  to  pursue. 
The  most  of  them  had  come  from  about  Detroit  at  the  in¬ 
stance  of  the  French  commandant  there,  to  fortify  Fort 
du  Quesne  against  an  attack  by  Forbes — the  hunting  sea¬ 
son  had  arrived  and  many  of  them  were  anxious  to  return 
to  their  town.  The  question  which  attracted  their  atten¬ 
tion  most  seriously  was,  whether  Gen.  Forbes  would  then 
retreat  or  advance.  As  Grant  had  been  most  signally  de¬ 
feated,  many  supposed  that  the  main  arm  would  retire  into 
winter  quarters,  as  Dunbar  had,  after  the  battle  on  the 
Monongahela.  The  French  expressed  a  different  opinion, 
and  endeavored  to  prevail  on  the.  Indians  to  remain  and 

he  aided  Colonel  Woodford  in  defeating  Capt.  Fordyce  and  party  at  the 
Great  Bridge.  In  March,  1776,  Congress  appointed  him  deputy  adju¬ 
tant-general  of  the  Southern  Department  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
colonel,  and  advanced  him  in  May  following  to  the  full  rank  of  col¬ 
onel.  He  died  while  yet  in  service,  in  1778. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


73 


witness  the  result.  This  however  they  refused  to  do,  and 
the  greater  part  of  them  left  du  Quesne.  Upon  this  the 
commandant  of  the  fort,  in  order  to  learn  the  course 
which  Gen.  Forbes  would  pursue,  and  to  impress  upon  the 
English,  an  idea  that  the  French  were  in  return  preparing 
to  attack  them,  ordered  the  remainder  of  the  Indians,  a 
number  of  Canadians  and  some  French  regulars  to  recon¬ 
noitre  the  route  [58]  along  which  Gen.  Forbes  would  be 
most  likely  to  march  his  army,  to  watch  their  motions  and 
harrass  them  as  much  as  possible;  determining  if  they 
could  not  thus  force  him  to  abandon  the  idea  of  attacking 
Du  Quesne  during  that  campaign,  they  would  evacuate  the 
fort  and  retire  into  Canada. 

AVLen  Major  Grant  with  his  men  had  been  ordered  on 
to  Du  Quesne,  the  main  army  had  been  left  at  Eaystown, 
where  it  continued  for  some  time ;  an  advance  was  how¬ 
ever  posted  at  fort  Ligonier.  Between  this  vanguard  and 
the  detachment  from  Du  Quesne  there  was  a  partial  en¬ 
gagement,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  some  of  the  Mary¬ 
land  troops.  Fort  Ligonier  was  then  closely  watched  by 
the  French  and  Indians,  and  several  of  the  sentinels  were 
killed,  before  the  point  from  which  the  tires  were  directed, 
was  discovered ;  it  was  at  length  ascertained  that  parties 
of  the  enemy  would  creep  under  the  bank  of  the  Loyal 
Hanna  till  they  could  obtain  a  position  from  which  to  do 
execution.  Some  soldiers  were  then  stationed  to  guard 
this  point,  who  succeeded  in  killing  two  Indians,  and  in 
wounding  and  making  prisoner  of  one  Frenchman.  From 
him  the  English  obtained  information  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  Indians  had  left  Du  Quesne,  and  that  the  fort 
was  defenceless  :  the  army  then  moved  forward  and  taking 
possession  of  its  ruins  established  thereon  Fort  Pitt.1  The 

1  The  French  destroyed  Fort  Duquesne  in  November,  1758.  Daring 
the  winter  following.  Fort  Pitt  was  erected  by  the  English  troops.  In 
his  Journal  of  a  Tour  to  the  Ohio  River  (1770),  Washington  says  of  it: 
“  The  fort  is  built  on  the  point  between  the  rivers  Alleghany  and  Monon- 
gahela,  but  not  so  near  the  pitch  of  it  as  Fort  Duquesne  stood.  It  is  five¬ 
sided  and  regular,  two  of  which  next  the  land  are  of  brick ;  the  others 
stockade.  A  moat  encompasses  it.”  Fort  Pitt  was  invested  by  the  In¬ 
dians  during  Pontiac’s  War  (1763).  It  was  fully  garrisoned  until  1772, 
when  a  corporal  and  a  few  men  were  left  as  care-takers.  In  October  of 


74 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


country  around  began  immediately  to  be  settled,  and  sev¬ 
eral  other  forts  were  erected  to  protect  emigrants,  and  to 
keep  the  Indians  in  awe. 

Previous  to  this  an  attempt  bad  been  made  by  David 
Tygart  and  a  Mr.  Files  to  establish  themselves  on  an  up¬ 
per  branch  of  the  Monongahela  river.* 1  They  had  been  for 
some  time  frontier’s  men,  and  were  familiar  with  the  scenes 
usually  exhibited  on  remote  and  unprotected  borders;  and 
nothing  daunted  by  the  cruel  murders  and  savage  enormi¬ 
ties,  which  they  had  previously  witnessed,  were  induced 
by  some  cause,  most  probably  the  uninterrupted  enjoyment 
of  the  forest  in  the  pursuit  of  game,  to  venture  still  farther 
into  the  wilderness.  About  the  year  1754  these  two  men 
with  their  families  arrived  on  the  east  fork  of  the  Monon¬ 
gahela,  and  after  examining  the  country,  selected  posi¬ 
tions  for  their  future  residence.  Files  chose  a  spot  on  the 
river,  at  the  mouth  of  a  creek  which  still  bears  his  name, 
where  Beverly,  the  county  seat  of  Randolph  has  been 
since  established.  Tygart  settled  a  few  miles  farther  up 
and  also  on  the  river.  The  valley  in  which  they  had  thus 
taken  up  their  abode,  has  been  since  called  Tygart’s 
[59]  valley,  and  the  east  fork  of  the  Monongahela,  Ty- 
gart’s-valley  river. 

that  year,  the  property  was  sold,  and  several  houses  were  built  out  of  the 
material.  In  the  course  of  the  boundary  dispute  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  the  latter  colony  took  possession  of  the  ruins,  through 
Lord  Dunmore’s  agent  there,  John  Conolly. — R.  G.  T. 

1  The  author  overlooks  the  settlement  made  by  Christopher  Gist, 
the  summer  of  1753,  in  the  town  of  Dunbar,  Fayette  county,  Pa.,  two  or 
*  three  miles  west  of  the  Youghioghenv  and  some  seventy  miles  north¬ 
west  of  Will’s  Creek  ;  the  site  wTas  doubtless  selected  by  him  in  his  trip 
of  1751-52.  Washington,  who  visited  him  there  in  November,  1753,  on 
the  way  to  Fort  Le  Bceuf,  calls  it  “  Gist’s  new  settlement,”  but  the  own¬ 
er’s  name  for  his  place  was  “  Monongahela.”  It  was  the  first  settlement 
of  which  there  is  record,  upon  the  Ohio  Company’s  lands.  Gist  induced 
eleven  families  to  settle  near  him  ;  and  on  his  journey  home,  in  January, 
1754,  Washington  met  them  going  out  to  the  new  lands.  The  victory  of 
the  French  over  Washington,  at  Fort  Necessity,  in  July,  led  to  the  ex¬ 
pulsion  from  the  region  of  all  English-speaking  settlers.  The  French 
commander,  De  Villiers,  reports  that  he  “burnt  down  all  the  settle¬ 
ments”  on  the  Monongahela  (from  Redstone  down),  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  Gist’s. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


75 


The  difficulty  of  procuring  bread  stuffs  for  their  fami¬ 
lies,  their  contiguity  to  an  Indian  village,  and  the  fact  that 
an  Indian  war  path  passed  near  their  dwellings,  soon  de¬ 
termined  them  to  retrace  their  steps.1  Before  they  carried 
this  determination  into  effect,  the  family  of  Files  became 
the  victims  of  savage  cruelty.  At  a  time  when  all  the 
family  were  at  their  cabin,  except  an  elder  son,  they  were 
discovered  by  a  party  of  Indians,  supposed  to  he  returning 
from  the  South  Branch,  who  inhumanly  butchered  them 
all.2  Young  Files  being  not  far  from  the  house  and  hear¬ 
ing  the  uproar,  approached  until  he  saw,  too  distinctly,  the 
deeds  of  death  which  were  doing;  and  feeling  the  utter 
impossibility  of  affording  relief  to  his  own,  resolved  if  he 
could,  to  effect  the  safety  of  Tygart’s  family.  This  was 
done  and  the  country  abandoned  by  them. 

Hot  long  after  this,  Doctor  Thomas  Eckarly  and  his 
two  brothers  came  from  Pennsylvania  and  camped  at  the 
mouth  of  a  creek,  emptying  into  the  Monongahela,  8  or  10 
miles  below  Morgantown ;  they  were  Dunkards,  and  from 
that  circumstance,  the  watercourse  on  which  they  fixed 
themselves  for  a  while,  has  been  called  Dunkard’s  creek. 
While  their  camp  continued  at  this  place,  these  men  were 
engaged  in  exploring  the  country;  and  ultimately  settled 
on  Cheat  river,  at  the  Dunkard  bottom.  Here  they  erected 
a  cabin  for  their  dwelling,  and  made  such  improvements 
as  enabled  them  to  raise  the  first  year,  a  crop  of  corn  suf¬ 
ficient  for  their  use,  and  some  culinary  vegetables :  their 
guns  supplied  them  with  an  abundance  of  meat,  of  a  flavor 

1  This  trail  was  a  continuation  of  the  famous  “  Warrior  Branch/ 
which  coming  up  from  Tennessee  passed  through  Kentucky  and  South¬ 
ern  Ohio,  and  threading  the  valley  of  Fish  Creek  crossed  over  to 
Dunkard’s  Creek  and  so  on  to  the  mouth  of  Bedstone  Creek. — R.  G.  T. 

2  In  Col.  Preston’s  MS.  Register  of  Indian  Depredations,  in  the  Wis¬ 
consin  Historical  Society’s  library,  it  is  stated  that  Robert  Foyle,  wife 
and  five  children,  were  killed  on  the  Monongahela  in  1754.  Gov.  Din- 
widdie,  in  his  speech  to  the  Virginia  house  of  burgesses  in  February, 
1754,  refers  to  this  barbarous  affair,  giving  the  same  number  of  the 
family  destroyed;  and  the  gazettes  of  that  period  state  that  Robert 
Foyle,  together  with  his  wife  and  five  children,  the  youngest  about  ten 
years  of  age,  wrere  killed  at  the  head  of  the  Monongahela;  their  bodies, 
scalped,  wrere  discovered  February  4th,  and  wrere  supposed  to  have  been 
killed  about  two  months  before. — L.  C.  D. 


76 


Withers's  Chronicles 


as  delicious  as  the  refined  palate  of  a  modern  epicure  could 
well  wish.  Their  clothes  were  made  chiefly  of  the  skins 
of  animals,  and  were  easily  procured:  and  although  calcu¬ 
lated  to  give  a  grotesque  appearance  to  a  fine  gentleman  in 
a  city  drawing  room;  yet  were  they  particularly  suited  to 
their  situation,  and  afforded  them  comfort. 

Here  they  spent  some  years  entirely  unmolested  by  the 
Indians,  although  a  destructive  war  was  then  raging,  and 
prosecuted  with  cruelty,  along  the  whole  extent  of  our 
frontier.  At  length  to  obtain  an  additional  supply  of  am¬ 
munition,  salt  and  shirting,  Doctor  Eckarly  left  Cheat, 
with  a  pack  of  furs  and  skins,  to  visit  a  trading  post  on 
the  Shenandoah.  On  his  return,  he  stopped  at  Fort  Pleas¬ 
ant,  on  the  South  Branch;  and  having  communicated  to 
its  inhabitants  the  place  of  his  residence,  and  the  length 
of  time  he  had  been  living  there,  he  was  charged  with 
being  in  confederacy  with  the  Indians,  and  probably  at 
that  instant  a  spy,  examining  the  condition  of  the  fort. 
In  vain  the  Doctor  protested  his  innocence  and  the  fact 
that  he  had  not  even  seen  an  Indian  in  the  country;  the 
suffering  condition  [59]  of  the  border  settlements,  rendered 
his  account,  in  their  opinion  improbable,  and  he  was  put 
in  confinement. 

The  society,  of  which  Doctor  Eckarly  was  a  member, 
was  rather  obnoxious  to  a  number  of  the  frontier  inhabit¬ 
ants.  Their  intimacy  with  the  Indians,  although  cultivated 
with  the  most  laudable  motives,  and  for  noble  purposes,  yet 
made  them  objects  at  least  of  distrust  to  many.  Laboring 
under  these  disadvantages,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  Doctor 
Eckarly  prevailed  on  the  officer  of  the  fort  to  release  him; 
and  when  this  was  done  he  was  only  permitted  to  go  home 
under  certain  conditions — he  was  to  he  escorted  by  a  guard 
of  armed  men,  who  were  to  carry  him  back  if  any  discov¬ 
ery  were  made  prejudicial  to  him.  Upon  their  arrival  at 
Cheat,  the  truth  of  his  statement  was  awfully  confirmed. 
The  first  spectacle  which  presented  itself  to  their  view, 
when  the  party  came  within  sight  of  where  the  cabin  had 
been,  was  a  heap  of  ashes.  On  approaching  the  ruins,  the 
half  decayed,  and  mutilated  bodies  of  the  poor  Dunkards, 
were  seen  in  the  yard;  the  hoops,  on  which  their  scalps 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


77 


had  been  dried,  were  there,  and  the  ruthless  hand  of  deso¬ 
lation  had  waved  over  their  little  Helds.  Doctor  Eckarly 
aided  in  burying  the  remains  of  his  unfortunate  brothers, 
and  returned  to  the  fort  on  the  South  Branch. 

In  the  fall  of  1758,  Thomas  Decker  and  some  others 
commenced  a  settlement  on  the  Monongahela  river,  at  the 
mouth  of  what  is  now,  Decker’s  creek.  In  the  ensuing 
spring  it  was  entirely  broken  up  by  a  party  of  Delawares 
and  Mingoes  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  its  inhabitants  mur¬ 
dered. 

There  was  at  this  time  at  Brownsville  a  fort,  then  known 
as  Bedstone  fort,  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Paul.1  One 

1  In  1750,  the  Ohio  Company,  as  a  base  of  operations  and  supplies,, 
built  a  fortified  warehouse  at  Will’s  Creek  (now  Cumberland,  Md.),  on 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Potomac.  Col.  Thomas  Cresap,  an  energetic 
frontiersman,  and  one  of  the  principal  agents  of  the  Company,  was  di¬ 
rected  to  blaze  a  pack-horse  trail  over  the  Laurel  Hills  to  the  Monon¬ 
gahela.  He  employed  as  his  guide  an  Indian  named  Nemacolin,  whose 
camp  was  at  the  mouth  of  Dunlap  Creek  (site  of  the  present  Browns¬ 
ville,  Pa.),  an  affluent  of  the  Monongahela.  Nemacolin  pointed  out  an 
old  Indian  trace  which  had  its  origin,  doubtless,  in  an  over-mountain 
buffalo  trail ;  and  this,  widened  a  little  by  Cresap,  was  at  first  known  as 
Nemacolin’s  Path.  It  led  through  Little  Meadows  and  Great  Meadows — 
open  marshes  grown  to  grass,  and  useful  for  feeding  traders’  and  ex¬ 
plorers’  horses.  Washington  traveled  this  path  in  1753,  when  he  went 
to  warn  the  French  at  Fort  Le  Bceuf.  Again,  hut  widened  somewhat, 
it  was  his  highway  in  1754,  as  far  north  as  Gist’s  plantation  ;  and  at  Great 
Meadows  he  built  Fort  Necessity,  where  he  was  defeated.  Braddock 
followed  it  in  great  part,  in  1755,  and  henceforth  it  became  known  as 
“  Braddock’s  Road.”  The  present  National  Road  from  Cumberland  to 
Brownsville,  via  Uniontown,  differs  in  direction  but  little  from  Nemaco¬ 
lin’s  Path.  For  a  map  of  Braddock’s  Road,  see  Lowdermilk’s  History  of 
Cumberland ,  Md.,  p.  140.  with  description  on  pages  51,  52, 140-148.  Ellis’s 
History  of  Fayette  Co.,  Pa.,  also  has  valuable  data. 

The  terminus  of  Nemacolin’s  Path  was  Dunlap’s  Creek  (Browns¬ 
ville).  A  mile-and-a-quarter  below  Dunlap’s,  enters  Redstone  Creek,  and 
the  name  “Redstone”  became  affixed  to  the  entire  region  hereabout, 
although  “  Monongahela  ”  was  sometimes  used  to  indicate  the  pan¬ 
handle  between  the  Monongahela  and  the  Youghiogheny.  In  1752,  the 
Ohio  Company  built  a  temporary  warehouse  at  the  mouth  of  Dunlap’s 
Creek,  at  the  end  of  the  over-mountain  trail.  In  1754,  Washington’s  ad¬ 
vance  party  (Capt.  Trent)  built  a  log  fort,  called  “  The  Hangard,”  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Redstone,  but  this  was,  later  in  the  year,  destroyed  by 
the  French  officer  De  Yilliers.  In  1759,  Colonel  Burd,  as  one  of  the  fea¬ 
tures  of  Forbes’s  campaign  against  Fort  Duquesne,  erected  Fort  Burd  at 
the  mouth  of  Dunlap’s,  which  was  a  better  site.  This  fort  was  gar- 


1 


78 


Withers's  Chronicles 


of  Decker's  party  escaped  from  the  Indians  who  destroyed 
the  settlement,  and  making  his  way  to  Fort  Redstone, 
gave  to  its  commander  the  melancholy  intelligence.  The 
garrison  being  too  weak  to  admit  of  sending  a  detachment 
in  pursuit,  Capt.  Paul  despatched  a  runner  with  the  in¬ 
formation  to  Capt.  John  Gibson,  then  stationed  at  Fort 
Pitt.  Leaving  the  fort  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  ’Will¬ 
iamson,  Capt.  Gibson  set  out  with  thirty  men  to  intercept 
the  Indians,  on  their  return  to  their  towns. 

In  consequence  of  the  distance  which  the  pursuers  had 
to  go,  and  the  haste  with  which  the  Indians  had  retreated, 
the  expedition  failed  in  its  object;  they  however  accidentally 
came  on  a  party  of  six  or  seven  Mingoes,  on  the  head  of 
Cross  Creek  in  Ohio  (near  Steubenville) — these  had  been 
prowling  about  the  river,  below  Fort  Pitt,  seeking  an  op¬ 
portunity  of  committing  depredations.* 1  As  Capt.  Gibson 
passed  the  point  of  a  small  knoll,  just  after  day  break,  he 
came  unexpectedly  upon  them — some  of  them  were  lying 
down;  the  others  were  sitting  round  a  fire,  making  thongs 
of  green  hides.  Kiskepila  or  Little  Eagle,  a  Mingo  chief, 
headed  the  party.  So  soon  as  he  discovered  Capt.  Gibson, 
he  raised  the  war  whoop  and  fired  [61]  his  rifle — the  ball 
passed  through  Gibson’s  hunting  shirt  and  wounded  a  sol¬ 
dier  just  behind  him.  Gibson  sprang  forward,  and  swinging 
his  sword  with  herculean  force,  severed  the  head  of  the 
Little  Eagle  from  his  body  —  two  other  Indians  were  shot 
down,  and  the  remainder  escaped  to  their  towns  on  Mus¬ 
kingum. 

ci 

When  the  captives,  who  were  restored  under  the  treaty 
of  1763,  came  in,  those  who  were  at  the  Mingo  towns  when 
the  remnant  of  Kiskepila’s  party  returned,  stated  that  the 
Indians  represented  Gibson  as  having  cut  off  the  Little 

risoned  as  late  as  the  Dunmore  War  (1774),  but  was  probably  abandoned 
soon  after  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  name  “  Redstone  Old  Fort  ”  be¬ 
came  attached  to  the  place,  because  within  the  present  limits  of  Browns¬ 
ville  were  found  by  the  earliest  comers,  and  can  still  be  traced,  ex¬ 
tensive  earthworks  of  the  mound-building  era. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Cross  Creek  empties  into  the  Ohio  through  Mingo  Bottom  (site  of 
Mingo  Junction,  O.).  On  this  bottom  was,  for  many  years,  a  consider¬ 
able  Mingo  village. — R.  G  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


79 


Eagle’s  head  with  a  long  knife.  Several  of  the  white  per¬ 
sons  were  then  sacrificed  to  appease  the  manes  of  Kis- 
kepila;  and  a  war  dance  ensued,  accompanied  with  terrific 
shouts  and  bitter  denunciations  of  revenge  on  uthe  Big  knife 
warrior.”  This  name  was  soon  after  applied  to  the  Vir¬ 
ginia  militia  generally;  and  to  this  day  they  are  known 
among  the  north  western  Indians  as  the  uLong  knives”  or 
“ Big  knife  nation.” 1 

1  This  statement,  that  Capt.  Audley  Paul  commanded  at  Redstone, 
and  of  his  attempting  to  intercept  a  foraging  Indian  party,  can  not  possi¬ 
bly  be  true.  There  was  no  fort,  and  consequently  no  garrison,  at  Red¬ 
stone  in  1758.  It  was  not  built  ’till  1759,  and  then  by  Col.  James  Burd,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  forces.  James  L.  Bowman,  a  native  of  Brownsville, 
the  locality  of  Redstone  Old  Fort,  wrote  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  that 
place,  which  appeared  in  the  American  Pioneer  in  February,  1843,  in  which 
he  says :  “We  have  seen  it  stated  in  a  creditable  work,  that  the  fort  was 
built  by  Capt.  Paul  —  doubtless  an  error,  as  the  Journal  of  Col.  Burd  is 
ample  evidence  to  settle  that  matter.”  Col.  Burd  records  in  his  Journal : 
“  Ordered,  in  Aug.  1759,  to  march  with  two  hundred  of  my  battalion  to 
the  mouth  of  Redstone  Creek,  to  cut  a  road  to  that  place,  and  to  erect 
a  fort.”  He  adds:  “  When  I  had  cut  the  road,  and  finished  the  fort,”  etc. 

The  other  part  of  the  story,  about  Capt.  John  Gibson  commanding 
at  Fort  Pitt  in  “the  fall  of  1758,”  is  equally  erroneous,  as  Gen.  Forbes 
did  not  possess  himself  of  Fort  Duquesne  till  Nov.  25th,  1758,  within 
five  days  of  the  conclusion  of  “  fall  ”  in  that  year;  and  Gen.  Forbes  com¬ 
manded  there  in  person  until  he  left  for  Philadelphia,  Dec.  3d  following. 
There  is,  moreover,  no  evidence  that  Gibson  was  then  in  service.  The 
story  of  his  decapitating  Kis-ke-pi-la,  or  the  Little  Eagle,  if  there  was  such 
a  person,  or  of  his  beheading  any  other  Indian,  is  not  at  all  probable. 
He  was  an  Indian  trader  for  many  years,  and  was  made  prisoner  by  the 
Indians  in  1763,  and  detained  a  long  time  in  captivity. 

Gibson  could  not  by  any  such  decapitating  exploit,  have  originated 
the  designation  of  “  Big  Knife,”  or  “  Big  Knife  warrior,”  for  this  appella¬ 
tion  had  long  before  been  applied  to  the  Virginians.  Gist  says  in  his 
Journal,  Dec.  7th,  1750,  in  speaking  of  crossing  Elk’s  Eye  Creek  —  the 
Muskingum  —  and  reaching  an  Indian  hamlet,  that  the  Indians  were  all 
out  hunting;  that  “  the  old  Frenchman,  Mark  Coonce,  living  there,  was 
civil  to  me ;  but  after  I  was  gone  to  my  camp,  upon  his  understanding  I 
came  from  Virginia,  he  called  me  Big  Knife."  Col.  James  Smith,  then  a 
prisoner  with  the  Indians,  says  the  Indians  assigned  as  a  reason  why 
they  did  not  oppose  Gen.  Forbes  in  1758,  that  if  they  had  been  only  red 
coats  they  could  have  subdued  them ;  “  but  they  could  not  withstand 
Ash-a-le-co-a ,  or  the  Great  Knife ,  which  was  the  name  they  gave  the 
Virginians.” — L.  C.  D. 

Comment  by  B.  G.  T. — See  note  on  p.  77,  regarding  erection  of  early 
forts  at  Redstone.  James  Veech,  in  Monongahela  of  Old ,  says,  “We  know 


80 


Withers's  Chronicles 


These  are  believed  to  have  been  the  only  attempts  to 
effect  a  settlement  of  North  Western  Virginia,  prior  to  the 
close  of  the  French  war.  The  capture  of  Fort  du  Quesne 
and  the  erection  and  garrisoning  of  Fort  Pitt,  although 
they  gave  to  the  English  an  ascendency  in  that  quarter; 
yet  they  did  not  so  far  check  the  hostile  irruptions  of  the 
Indians,  as  to  render  a  residence  in  this  portion  of  Vir¬ 
ginia,  by  any  means  secure. — It  was  consequently  not  at¬ 
tempted  ’till  some  years  after  the  restoration  of  peace  in 
1765. 

that  the  late  Col.  James  Pauli  served  a  month’s  duty  in  a  drafted  militia 
company  in  guarding  Continental  stores  here  [Fort  Burd]  in  1778.”  The 
term  “  Big  Knives”  or  “  Long  Knives”  may  have  had  reference  either 
to  the  long  knives  carried  by  early  white  hunters,  or  the  swords  worn  by 
backwoods  militia  officers.  See  Roosevelt’s  Winning  of  the  West,  I.,  p.  197. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


81 


[62]  CHAPTER  III. 

The  destruction  of  the  Roanoke  settlement  in  the 
spring  of  1757,  by  a  party  of  Shawanees,  gave  rise  to  the 
campaign,  which  was  called  by  the  old  settlers  the  “  Sandy 
creek  voyage.’’  To  avenge  this  outrage,  Governor  Din- 
widdie  ordered  out  a  company  of  regulars  (taken  chiefly 
from  the  garrison  at  Fort  Dinwiddie,  on  Jackson’s  river) 
under  the  command  of  Capt.  Audley  Paul ;  a  company  of 
minute-men  from  Boutetourt,  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
William  Preston ;  and  two  companies  from  Augusta,  un¬ 
der  Captains  John  Alexander1  and  William  Hogg.  In 
Capt.  Alexander’s  company,  John  M’Hutt,  afterwards 
governor  of  Hova  Scotia,  was  a  subaltern.  The  whole 
were  placed  under  the  command  of  Andrew  Lewis.2 

1  Father  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  sometime  president  of  Hamp¬ 
den  Sydney  College  in  Virginia,  and  afterwards  a  professor  at  Princeton 
in  New  Jersey. 

Comment  by  L.  C.  D. — He  was  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Alexander. 

2  The  attacks  on  the  Roanoke  settlement,  mentioned  by  Withers,  oc¬ 
curred  in  June  and  July,  1755  (not  the  spring  of  1757,  as  he  states);  that 
on  Greenbrier,  in  September  following;  and  the  expedition  against  the 
Shawmees  did  not  take  place  in  1757,  but  in  February  and  March,  1756. 
Diaries  and  other  documents  in  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society’s  library 
prove  this.  Dr.  Draper  estimated  that  Lewis’s  force  was  about  263  w'hites 
and  130  Cherokees — 418  in  all.  The  several  companies  were  officered 
by  Peter  Hogg,  John  Smith,  William  Preston,  Archibald  Alexander, 
Robert  Breckenridge,  Obadiah  Woodson,  John  Montgomery,  and  one 
Dunlap.  Two  of  Dr.  Thomas  Walker’s  companions  in  his  Kentucky 
exploration  of  1750,  were  in  the  expedition — Henry  Lawless  and  Colby 
Chew\  Governor  Dinwiddie  had  stipulated  in  his  note  to  Washington, 
in  December,  1755,  that  either  Col.  Adam  Stephen  or  Maj.  Andrew 
Lewis  w'as  to  command.  Washington  having  selected  the  latter,  de¬ 
spatched  him  from  Winchester  about  the  middle  of  January,  1756,  with 
orders  to  hurry  on  the  expedition.  To  the  mismanagement  of  the 
guides  is  attributed  much  of  the  blame  for  its  failure.  The  interesting 
Journals  of  Capt.  William  Preston  and  Lieut.  Thomas  Norton  are  in 
the  x>ossession  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society. — R.  G.  T. 

6 


62 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


Beside  the  chastisement  of  the  Indians,  the  expedition 
had  for  its  object,  the  establishment  of  a  military  post  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Sandy.  This  would  have  enabled 
them,  not  only  to  maintain  a  constant  watch  over  maraud¬ 
ing  parties  of  Indians  from  that  quarter;  but  to  check  the 
communication  between  them  and  the  post  at  Galliopolis; 
and  thus  counteract  the  influence  which  the  French  there 
had  obtained  over  them.1 

The  different  companies  detailed  upon  the  Shawanee 
expedition,  were  required  to  rendezvous  on  the  lioanoke, 
near  to  the  present  town  of  Salem  in  Bottetourt,  where 
Col.  Lewis  was  then  posted.  The  company  commanded 
by  Capt.  Hogg  failed  to  attend  at  the  appointed  time; 
and  Col.  Lewis  after  delaying  a  week  for  its  arrival, 
marched  forward,  expecting  to  be  speedily  overtaken  by  it. 

To  avoid  an  early  discovery  by  the  Indians,  which 
would  have  been  the  consequence  of  their  taking  the  more 
public  route  by  the  Great  Kenhawa;  and  that  they  might 
fall  upon  the  Indians  towns  in  the  valley  of  the  Scioto, 
without  being  interrupted  or  seen  by  the  French  at  Galli¬ 
opolis,  they  took  the  route  by  the  way  of  Hew  river  and 
Sandy.  Crossing  Hew  river  below  the  Horse-shoe,  they 
descended  it  to  the  mouth  of  Wolf  creek;  and  ascending 
this  to  its  source,  passed  over  to  the  head  of  Bluestone 
river;  where  they  delayed  another  week  awaiting  the  ar¬ 
rival  of  Capt.  Hogg  and  his  company.2 — They  then 
marched  to  the  head  of  the  north  fork  of  Sandy,  and  con¬ 
tinued  down  it  to  the  great  Burning  Spring,  where  they 

1  But  Gallipolis  was  not  settled  until  1790,  as  has  been  previously 
shown.  Withers  confounds  the  modern  French  town  of  Gallipolis, 
whose  residents  were  the  sad  victims  of  Indian  outrages  rather  than  the 
abettors  of  them,  with  the  old  Shawnee  town  just  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto  (site  of  Alexandria.  O.).  This  fur-trading  center  wras  a 
village  of  log  huts  built  by  the  French  for  the  accommodation  of  their 
Shawnee  allies,  and  was  a  center  of  frontier  disturbances. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Preston’s  Journal  does  not  lay  much  stress  on  Hogg’s  delay.  Nor¬ 
ton’s  Journal,  speaking  of  Hogg,  says,  “common  soldiers  were  by  him 
scarcely  treated  with  humanity,”  and  he  seems  to  have  regularly  over¬ 
ruled  and  disobeyed  Lewis.  There  was  much  rancor  in  camp,  and  Nor¬ 
ton  writes  of  the  Cherokee  allies,  “The  conduct  and  concord  that  was 
kept  up  among  the  Indians  might  shame  us,  for  they  were  in  general 
quite  unanimous  and  brotherly.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


83 


also  remained  a  day.  Here  the  salt  and  provisions,  which 
had  been  conveyed  [63]  on  pack  horses,  were  entirely  ex¬ 
hausted.  Two  buffaloes,  killed  just  above  the  spring,  were 
also  eaten  while  the  army  continued  here;  and  their  hides 
were  hung  upon  a  beech  tree.  After  this  their  subsist¬ 
ence  was  procured  exclusively  by  hunting. 

The  army  then  resumed  their  march ;  and  in  a  few 
days  after,  it  was  overtaken  by  a  runner  with  the  intelli¬ 
gence  that  Capt.  Ilogg  and  his  company  were  only  a 
day’s  march  in  the  rear.  Col.  Lewis  again  halted ;  and 
the  day  after  he  was  overtaken  by  Hogg,  he  was  like¬ 
wise  overtaken  by  an  express  from  Francis  Fauquier1 
with  orders  for  the  army  to  return  home ;  and  for  the  dis¬ 
banding  of  all  the  troops  except  Capt.  Paul’s  regulars,2 
who  were  to  return  to  Fort  Hinwiddie. 

This  was  one  of  the  first  of  Gov.  Fauquier’s  official  acts; 
and  it  was  far  from  endearing  him  to  the  inhabitants  west 
of  the  Blue  ridge.  They  had  the  utmost  confidence  in 
the  courage  and  good  conduct  of  Col.  Lewis,  and  of  the 
officers  and  men  under  his  command — they  did  not  for  an 
instant  doubt  the  success  of  the  expedition,  and  looked 
forward  with  much  satisfaction,  to  their  consequent  ex¬ 
emption  in  a  great  degree,  from  future  attacks  from  the 
Indians.  It  was  not  therefore  without  considerable  re¬ 
gret,  that  they  heard  of  their  countermanding  orders. 

Hor  were  they  received  by  Lewis  and  his  men  with 
very  different  feelings.  They  had  endured  much  during 
their  march,  from  the  inclemency  of  the  weather;  more 
from  the  want  of  provisions — They  had  borne  these  hard¬ 
ships  without  repining ;  anticipating  a  chastisement  of  the 
Indians,  and  the  deriving  of  an  abundant  supply  of  pro¬ 
visions  from  their  conquered  towns — They  had  arrived 
within  ten  miles  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  could  not  witness 
the  blasting  of  their  expectations,  without  murmuring. 
A  council  of  war  was  held — disappointment  and  indigna- 

1  This  expedition  was  sent  out  under  the  auspices  of  Gov.  Dinwid- 
die — Fauquier  did  not  become  governor  until  1758.  No  countermand¬ 
ing  orders  were  sent.— L.  C.  D. 

2  Audley  Paul  was  first  lieutenant  in  Preston’s  company. — L.  C.  D. 


84 


Withers's  Chronicles 


tion  were  expressed  in  every  feature.  A  majority  of  the 
officers  were  in  favor  of  proceeding  to  the  Ohio  river,  un¬ 
der  the  expectation  that  they  might  fall  in  with  some 
of  the  enemy — they  marched  to  the  river  and  encamped 
two  nights  on  its  banks.  Discovering  nothing  of  an 
enemy,  they  then  turned  to  retrace  their  steps  through 
pathless  mountains,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles,  in 
the  midst  of  winter  and  without  provisions. 

The  reasons  assigned  by  the  friends  of  Gov.  Fauquier, 
for  the  issuing  of  those  orders  were,  that  the  force  detailed 
by  Gov.  Dinwiddie,  was  not  sufficient  to  render  secure 
an  establishment  at  the  contemplated  point — near  the  In¬ 
dian  towns  on  the  Scioto — within  a  few  days  journey  of 
several  thousand  warriors  on  the  Miami — in  the  vicinity 
of  the  hostile  post  at  Galliopolis  and  so  remote  from  the 
settled  part  of  Virginia,  that  they  could  not  be  furnished 
with  assistance,  and  supplied  with  provisions  and  military 
stores,  without  incurring  an  expenditure,  both  of  blood 
and  money,  beyond  what  the  colony  could  spare,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  that  object. 

Had  Capt.  Hogg  with  his  company,  been  at  the  place 
of  rendezvous  at  the  appointed  time,  the  countermanding  or¬ 
ders  of  the  governor  [64]  could  not  have  reached  the  army, 
until  it  had  penetrated  the  enemy’s  country.  What  might 
have  been  its  fate,  it  is  impossible  to  say — the  bravery  of 
the  troops — their  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  Indian 
mode  of  warfare — their  confidence  in  the  officers  and  the 
experience  of  many  of  them,  seemed  to  give  every  assur¬ 
ance  of  success — While  the  unfortunate  result  of  many 
subsequent  expeditions  of  a  similar  nature,  would  induce 
the  opinion  that  the  governor’s  apprehensions  were  per¬ 
haps  prudent  and  well  founded.  That  the  army  would 
soon  have  had  to  encounter  the  enemy,  there  can  be  no 
doubt;  for  although  not  an  Indian  had  been  seen,  yet  it 
seems  probable  from  after  circumstances,  that  it  had  been 
discovered  and  watched  by  them  previous  to  its  return. 

On  the  second  night  of  their  march  homeward,  while 
encamped  at  the  Great  falls,  some  of  Hogg’s  men  went 
out  on  the  hills  to  hunt  turkeys,  and  fell  in  with  a  party 
of  Indians,  painted  as  for  war.  As  soon  as  they  saw  that 


85 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

they  were  discovered,  they  fired,  and  two  of  Hogg’s  men 
were  killed — the  fire  was  returned  and  a  Shawanee  warrior 
was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  The  remaining  Indians, 
yelling  their  war  whoop,  fled  down  the  river. 

Many  of  the  whites,  thinking  that  so  small  a  party  of 
Indians  would  not  have  pursued  the  army  alone,  were  of 
opinion  that  it  was  only  an  advanced  scout  of  a  large  body 
of  the  enemy,  who  were  following  them  :  the  wounded  In¬ 
dian  refused  to  give  any  information  of  their  number  or 
object.  A  council  of  war  was  convoked;  and  much  diver¬ 
sity  of  opinion  prevailed  at  the  board.  It  was  proposed 
by  Capt.  Paul  to  cross  the  Ohio  river,  invade  the  towns  on 
the  Scioto,  and  burn  them,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.1  The 
proposition  was  supported  by  Lieut.  M’Hutt,  but  over¬ 
ruled  ;  and  the  officers,  deeming  it  right  to  act  in  con¬ 
formity  with  the  governor’s  orders,  determined  on  pur¬ 
suing  their  way  home.  Orders  were  then  given  that  no 
more  guns  should  be  fired,  and  no  fires  kindled  in  camp, 
as  their  safe  return  depended  very  much  on  silence  and 
secrecy. 

An  obedience  to  this  order,  produced  a  very  consider¬ 
able  degree  of  suffering,  as  well  from  extreme  cold  as  from 
hunger.  The  pack  horses,  which  were  no  longer  service¬ 
able  (having  no  provisions  to  transport)  and  some  of  which 
had  given  out  for  want  of  provender,  were  killed  and 
eaten.  When  the  army  arrived  at  the  Burning  spring, 
the  buffalo  hides,  which  had  been  left  there  on  their  way 
down,  were  cut  into  tuggs,  or  long  thongs,  and  eaten  by 
the  troops,  after  having  been  exposed  to  the  heat  produced 
by  the  flame'  from  the  spring. — Hence  they  called  it  Tugg 
river — a  name  by  which  it  is  still  known.  After  this  the 
army  subsisted  for  a  while  on  beachnuts ;  but  a  deep  snow 

1  Withers,  deriving  his  information  from  Taylor’s  sketches,  was  mis¬ 
led  as  to  any  intention  of  establishing  a  fort  at  the  month  of  the 
Kanawha ;  and  also  as  to  Paul’s,  or  any  one  else’s  proposition  to  cross 
the  Ohio,  and  invade  the  Shawnee  towns.  The  only  aim  was,  to  reach 
the  Upper  Shawnee  town. — L.  C.  D. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — “Upper  Shawnee  town”  was  an  Indian  vil¬ 
lage  at  the  mouth  of  Old  Town  Creek,  emptying  into  the  Ohio  from  the 
north,  39  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha. 


86 


Withers's  Chronicles 


falling  these  could  no  longer  be  obtained,  and  the  re¬ 
strictions  were  removed. 

About  thirty  men  then  detached  themselves  from  the 
main  body,  to  hunt  their  way  home.  Several  of  them 
were  known  to  have  perished  from  cold  and  hunger — 
others  were  lost  and  never  afterwards  [65]  heard  of ;  as 
they  had  separated  into  small  parties,  the  more  certainly 
to  find  game  on  which  to  live.  The  main  body  of  the 
army  was  conducted  home  by  Col.  Lewis,  after  much  suf¬ 
fering — the  strings  of  their  mocasons,  the  belts  of  their 
hunting  shirts,  and  the  flaps  of  their  shot  pouches,  hav¬ 
ing  been  all  the  food  which  they  had  eaten  for  some  days.1 

A  journal  of  this  campaign  was  kept  by  Lieut.  M’lST utt, 
a  gentleman  of  liberal  education  and  fine  mind.  On  his  re¬ 
turn  to  Williamsburg  he  presented  it  to  Governor  Fauquier 
by  whom  it  was  deposited  in  the  executive  archives.  In 
this  journal  Col.  Lewis  was  censured  for  not  having  pro¬ 
ceeded  directly  to  the  Scioto  towns;  and  for  imposing  on 
the  army  the  restrictions,  as  to  fire  and  shooting,  which 
have  been  mentioned. — This  produced  an  altercation  be¬ 
tween  Lewis  and  M’Hutt,  which  was  terminated  by  a  per¬ 
sonal  encounter.2 

Luring  the  continuance  of  this  war,  many  depreda¬ 
tions  were  committed  by  hostile  Indians,  along  the  whole 
extent  of  the  Virginia  frontier.  Individuals,  leaving  the 
forts  on  any  occasion,  scarcely  ever  returned;  but  were, 
almost  always,  intercepted  by  Indians,  who  were  constantly 
prowling  along  the  border  settlements,  for  purposes  of 

1  If  such  a  journal  ever  existed,  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Gov. 
Dinwiddie,  or  possibly  to  Gov.  Fauquier ;  but  no  reference  to  it  is  found 
among  the  Dinwiddie  Papers,  as  published  by  the  Virginia  Historical  So¬ 
ciety  ;  nor  in  the  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  published  by  the  State  of  Vir¬ 
ginia.  It  is  to  be  remarked,  however,  that  few  of  the  records  of  that 
period  have  been  preserved  by  that  State. — L.  C.  D. 

2  Shortly  after,  M’Nutt  was  appointed  governor  of  Nova  Scotia,  where 
he  remained  until  the  commencement  of  the  American  revolution.  In 
this  contest  he  adhered  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  joined  his  country¬ 
men  in  arms  under  Gen.  Gates  at  Saratoga.  He  was  afterwards  known 
as  a  meritorious  officer  in  the  brigade  of  Baron  de  Kalb,  in  the  south — 
he  died  in  1811,  and  was  buried  in  the  Falling  Spring  church  yard,  in 
the  forks  of  James  river. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


87 


rapine  and  murder.  'The  particulars  of  occurrences  of  this 
kind,  and  indeed  of  many  of  a  more  important  character, 
no  longer  exist  in  the  memory  of  man — they  died  with 
them  who  were  contemporaneous  with  the  happening  of 
them.1  On  one  occasion  however,  such  was  the  extent  of 
savage  duplicity,  and  such,  and  so  full  of  horror,  the 
catastrophe  resulting  from  misplaced  confidence,  that  the 
events  which  marked  it,  still  live  in  the  recollection  of  the 
descendants  of  some  of  those,  who  suffered  on  the  theatre 
of  treachery  and  blood. 

On  the  south  fork  of  the  South  Branch  of  Potomac,  in, 
what  is  now,  the  county  of  Pendleton,  was  the  fort  of 
Capt.  Sivert.2  In  this  fort,  the  inhabitants  of  what  was 

1  Preston’s  MS.  Register  of  the  persons  of  Augusta  county,  Va., 
killed,  wounded,  captured  by  the  Indians,  and  of  those  who  escaped,  from 
1754  to  May,  1758,  is  in  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society’s  library.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  Col.  Preston,  whose  opportunities  were  so  good,  did 
not  continue  the  Register  till  the  end  of  the  Indian  wars.  It  is  a  most 
valuable  document  as  far  as  it  goes,  and  supplies  many  dates  and  facts 
hitherto  involved  in  doubt  and  obscurity. — L.  C.  D. 

2  Seybert’s  Fort  was  situated  on  the  South  Fork,  twelve  miles  north¬ 
east  of  Franklin,  in  Pendleton  County.  At  the  time  of  this  invasion, 
there  was  a  fort  located  on  the  South  Branch,  garrisoned  by  Capt. 
James  Dunlap  and  a  company  of  rangers  from  Augusta  county.  Pres¬ 
ton’s  Register  states,  that  on  the  27th  of  April,  1758,  the  fort  at  which 
Capt.  Dunlap  was  stationed,  was  attacked  and  captured,  the  captain 
and  twenty-two  others  killed ;  and,  the  next  day,  the  same  party,  no 
doubt,  attacked  Seybert’s  Fort,  killing  Capt.  Seybert  and  sixteen  others, 
while  twenty-four  others  were  missing.  Washington,  at  the  time,  placed, 
the  number  as  “about  sixty  persons  killed  and  missing.” 

A  gazette  account,  published  at  Williamsburg,  May  5th  ensuing, 
says :  “  The  Indians  lately  took  and  burnt  two  forts,  where  were  stationed 
one  of  our  ranging  companies,  forty  of  whom  were  killed  and  scalped, 
and  Lieut.  Dunlap  and  nineteen  missing.” 

Ivercheval’s  History  of  the  Valley  gives  some  further  particulars :  That 
Seybert’s  Fort  was  taken  by  surprise ;  that  ten  of  the  thirty  persons 
occupying  it,  were  bound,  taken  outside  ;  the  others  were  placed  on  a 
log  and  tomahawked.  James  Dyer,  a  lad  of  fourteen,  was  spared,  taken 
first  to  Logstown,  and  then  to  Chillicothe,  and  retained  a  year  and  ten 
months,  when  as  one  of  an  Indian  party  he  visited  Fort  Pitt,  and  man¬ 
aged  to  evade  his  associates  while  there,  and  finally  reached  the  settle¬ 
ments  in  Pennsylvania,  and  two  years  later  returned  to  the  South  Fork. 
It  is  added  by  the  same  historian,  as  another  tradition,  that  after  the 
fort  had  been  invested  two  days,  and  two  of  the  Indians  had  been  killed, 
the  garrison  agreed  to  surrender  on  condition  of  their  lives  being  spared, 


88 


Withers's  Chronicles 


then  called  the  “  Upper  Tract,”  all  sought  shelter  from 
the  tempest  of  savage  ferocity ;  and  at  the  time  the 
Indians  appeared  before  [66]  it,  there  were  contained 
within  its  walls  between  thirty  and  forty  persons  of  both 
sexes  and  of  different  ages.  Among  them  was  Mr.  Dyer, 
(the  father  of  Col.  Dyer  now  of  Pendleton)  and  his  family. 
On  the  morning  of  the  fatal  day,  Col.  Dyer  and  his  sister 
left  the  fort  for  the  accomplishment  of  some  object,  and 
although  no  Indians  had  been  seen  there  for  some  time, 
yet  did  they  not  proceed  far,  before  they  came  in  view  of 
a  party  of  forty  or  fifty  Shawanees,  going  directly  towards 
the  fort.  Alarmed  for  their  own  safety,  as  well  as  for  the 
safety  of  their  friends,  the  brother  and  sister  endeavored 
by  a  hasty  flight  to  reach  the  gate  and  gain  admittance  into 
the  garrison ;  but  before  they  could  effect  this,  they  were 
overtaken  and  made  captives. 

The  Indians  rushed  immediately  to  the  fort  and  com¬ 
menced  a  furious  assault  on  it.  Capt.  Sivert  prevailed, 
(not  without  much  opposition,)  on  the  besieged,  to  forbear 
firing  ’till  he  should  endeavor  to  negotiate  with,  and  buy 
off  the  enemy.  With  this  view,  and  under  the  protection 
of  a  flag  he  went  out,  and  soon  succeeded  in  making  the 
wished  for  arrangement.  When  he  returned,  the  gates 
were  thrown  open,  and  the  enemy  admitted. 

Ho  sooner  had  the  money  and  other  articles,  stipulated 

which  was  solemnly  promised.  That  when  the  gate  was  opened,  the 
Indians  rushed  in  with  demoniac  yells,  the  whites  fled,  but  were  re¬ 
taken,  except  one  person  ;  the  massacre  then  took  place,  and  ten  were 
carried  off  into  captivity. 

Still  another  tradition  preserved  by  Kercheval,  says  the  noted  Del¬ 
aware  chief,  Killbuck,  led  the  Indians.  Seybert’s  son,  a  lad  of  fifteen, 
exhibited  great  bravery  in  the  defense  of  the  fort.  Killbuck  called  out 
to  Capt.  Seybert,  in  English,  to  surrender,  and  their  lives  should  be 
spared ;  when  young  Seybert  at  this  instant,  aimed  his  loaded  gun  at 
the  chief,  and  the  father  seized  it,  and  took  it  from  him,  saying  they 
could  not  successfully  defend  the  place,  and  to  save  their  lives  should 
surrender,  confiding  in  Killbuck’s  assurances.  Capt.  Seybert  was  among 
the  first  of  those  sacrificed.  Young  Seybert  was  among  the  prisoners, 
and  told  the  chief  how  near  he  came  to  killing  him.  “  You  young 
rascal,”  laughingly  replied  Killbuck,  “  if  you  had  killed  me,  you  would 
have  saved  the  fort,  for  had  I  fallen,  my  warriors  would  have  immedi¬ 
ately  fled,  and  given  up  the  siege  in  despair.” — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


89 


to  be  given,  been  handed  over  to  the  Indians,  than  a  most 
bloody  tragedy  was  begun  to  be  acted.  Arranging  the 
inmates  of  the  fort,  in  two  rows,  with  a  space  of  about 
ten  feet  between  them,  two  Indians  were  selected ;  who 
taking  each  his  station  at  the  head  of  a  row,  with  their 
tomahawks  most  cruelly  murdered  almost  every  white 
person  in  the  fort;  some  few, •whom  caprice  or  some  other 
cause,  induced  them  to  spare,  were  carried  into  captivity, 
— such  articles  as  could  be  well  carried  away  were  taken 
off  by  the  Indians ;  the  remainder  was  consumed,  with  the 
fort,  bv  fire. 

The  course  pursued  by  Capt.  Sivert,  has  been  supposed 
to  have  been  dictated  by  timidity  and  an  ill  founded  ap¬ 
prehension  of  danger  from  the  attack.  It  is  certain  that 
strong  opposition  was  made  to  it  by  many;  and  it  has 
been  said  that  his  own  son  raised  his  rifle  to  shoot  him, 
when  he  ordered  the  gates  to  be  thrown  open ;  and  was 
only  prevented  from  executing  his  purpose,  by  the  inter¬ 
ference  of  some  near  to  him.  Capt.  Sivert  was  also  sup¬ 
ported  by  many,  in  the  plan  which  he  proposed  to  rid  the 
fort  of  its  assailants :  it  was  known  to  be  weak,  and 
incapable  of  withstanding  a  vigorous  onset;  and  [67]  its 
garrison  was  illy  supplied  with  the  munitions  of  war. 
Experience  might  have  taught  them,  however,  the  futility 
of  any  measure  of  security,  founded  in  a  reliance  on  In¬ 
dian  faith,  in  time  of  hostility;  and  in  deep  and  bitter 
anguish,  they  were  made  to  feel  its  realization  in  the  pres¬ 
ent  instance. 

In  the  summer  of  1761,  about  sixtv  Shawanee  war- 
riors  penetrated  the  settlements  on  James  river.  To  avoid 
the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  Looney’s  creek,  on  this  river, 
they  passed  through  Bowen’s  gap  in  Purgatory  mount¬ 
ain,  in  the  night;  and  ascending  Purgatory  creek,  killed 
Thomas  Perry,  Joseph  Dennis  and  his  child  and  made 
prisoner  his  wife,  Hannah  Dennis.  They  then  proceeded 
to  the  house  of  Robert  Renix,  where  they  captured  Mrs. 
Renix,  (a  daughter  of  Sampson  Archer)  and  her  five  chil¬ 
dren,  William,  Robert,  Thomas,  Joshua  and  Betsy — Mr. 
Renix  not  being  at  home.  They  then  went  to  the  house 
of  Thomas  Smith,  where  Renix  was  ;  and  shot  and  scalped 


90 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


him  and  Smith  ;  and  took  with  them,  Mrs.  Smith  and  Sally 
Jew,  a  white  servant  girl.1 

William  and  Audley  Maxwell,  and  George  Matthews, 
(afterwards  governor  of  Georgia,)  were  then  going  to 
Smith’s  house;  and  hearing  the  report  of  the  guns,  sup¬ 
posed  that  there  was  a  shooting  match.  But  when  they 
rode  to  the  front  of  the  house  and  saw  the  dead  bodies  of 
Smith  and  Renix  lying  in  the  yard,  they  discovered  their 
mistake;  and  contemplating  for  a  moment  the  awful  spec¬ 
tacle,  wheeled  to  ride  back.  At  this  instant  several  guns 
were  fired  at  them;  fortunately  without  doing  any  execu¬ 
tion,  except  the  cutting  off  the  club  of  Mr.  Matthews’  cue. 
The  door  of  the  house  was  then  suddenly  opened;  the 
Indians  rushed  out  and  raising  the  war  cry,  several  of 
them  fired — Audley  Maxwell  was  slightly  wounded  in 
the  arm. 

It  appeared  afterwards,  that  the  Indians  had  seen 
Matthews  and  the  Maxwells  coming;  and  that  some  of 
them  had  crowded  into  the  house,  while  the  others  with 
the  prisoners  went  to  the  north  side  of  it,  and  concealed 
themselves  behind  some  fallen  timber.  Mrs.  Renix,  after 
she  was  restored  to  her  friends  in  1766,  stated  that  she 
was  sitting  tied,  in  the  midst  of  four  Indians,  who  laying 
their  guns  on  a  log,  took  deliberate  aim  at  Matthews ;  the 
others  firing  at  the  Maxwells — The  sudden  wheeling  of 
their  horses  no  doubt  saved  the  lives  of  all  three. 

The  Indians  then  divided,  and  twenty  of  them  taking 
the  [68]  prisoners,  the  plunder  and  some  horses  which 
they  had  stolen,  set  oft*  by  the  way  of  Jackson’s  river,  for 

1  The  name  is  Renick.  Robert  Renick,  who  was  killed  on  the  occa¬ 
sion  referred  to,  was  a  man  of  character  and  influence  in  his  day.  His 
name  appears  on  Capt.  John  Smith’s  company  roll  of  Augusta  militia  as 
early  as  1742 ;  and  four  years  later,  he  was  lieutenant  of  a  mounted 
company  of  Augusta  militia.  Instead  of  1761,  the  captivity  of  the  Ren¬ 
ick  family  occurred  July  25,  1757,  as  shown  by  the  Preston  Register, 
which  states  that  Renick  and  another  were  killed  on  that  day — Mrs. 
Renick  and  seven  children,  and  a  Mrs.  Dennis,  captured;  and  the  same 
day,  at  Craig’s  Creek,  one  man  was  killed  and  twTo  wounded.  The 
Renick  traditions  state  that  Mrs.  Renick  had  only  five  children  when 
taken ;  and  one  born  after  reaching  the  Indian  towns ;  and  corrects 
some  other  statements  not  properly  related  in  Withers’s  narrative  of 
the  affair. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


91 


the  Ohio;  the  remainder  started  towards  Cedar  creek, 
with  the  ostensible  view  of  committing  farther  depreda¬ 
tions.  But  Matthews  and  the  Maxwrells  had  sounded  the 
alarm,  and  the  whole  settlement  were  soon  collected  at 
Paul’s  stockade  fort,  at  the  Big  spring  near  to  Springfield. 
Here  the  women  and  children  were  left  to  he  defended  by 
Audley  Maxwell  and  five  other  men  ;  while  the  others, 
forming  a  party  of  twenty-two,  with  George  Matthews  at 
their  head,  set  out  in  quest  of  the  enemy. 

The  Indians  were  soon  overtaken,  and  after  a  severe 
engagement,  were  forced  to  give  ground.  Matthews  and 
his  party  followed  in  pursuit,  as  far  as  Purgatory  creek; 
but  the  night  being  very  dark  in  consequence  of  a  con¬ 
tinued  rain,  the  fugitives  effected  an  escape ;  and  overtak¬ 
ing  their  comrades  with  the  prisoners  and  plunder,  on 
the  next  evening,  at  the  forks  of  the  James  and  Cow- 
pasture  rivers,  proceeded  to  Ohio  without  further  moles¬ 
tation. 

When  Matthews  and  his  men,  on  the  morning  suc¬ 
ceeding  the  engagement,  returned  to  the  field  of  battle, 
they  found  nine  Indians  dead ;  whom  they  buried  on  the 
spot.  Benjamin  Smith,  Thomas  Maury  and  the  father  of 
Sally  Jew,  wrere  the  only  persons  of  Matthews’  party, 
who  wTere  killed — these,  together  wTith  those  who  had  been 
murdered  on  the  preceding  day,  were  buried  near  the  fork 
of  a  branch,  in  (what  is  now)  the  meadow  of  Thomas 
Cross  sr. 

In  Boquet’s  treaty  with  the  Ohio  Indians,  it  was  stip¬ 
ulated  that  the  whites  detained  by  them  in  captivity  were 
to  be  brought  in  and  redeemed.  In  compliance  with  this 
stipulation,  Mrs.  Renix  was  brought  to  Staunton  in  1767 
and  ransomed,  together  with  two  of  her  sons,  William, 
the  late  Col.  Renix  of  Greenbrier,  and  Robert,  also  of 
Greenbrier — Betsy,  her  daughter,  had  died  on  the  Miami. 
Thomas  returned  in  1783,  but  soon  after  removed  and  set¬ 
tled,  on  the  Scioto,  near  Chilicothe.  Joshua  never  came 
back ;  he  took  an  Indian  wife  and  became  a  Chief  among 
the  Miamies — he  amassed  a  considerable  fortune  and  died 
near  Detroit  in  1810. 

Hannah  Dennis  was  separated  from  the  other  captives, 


92 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


and  allotted  to  live  at  the  Chilicothe  towns.1  She  learned 
their  language ;  painted  herself  as  they  do ;  and  in  many 
respects  conformed  to  their  manners  and  customs.  She 
was  attentive  to  sick  persons  and  was  highly  esteemed  by 
the  Indians,  as  [69]  one  well  skilled  in  the  art  of  curing 
diseases.  Finding  them  very  superstitious  and  believers 
in  necromancy ;  she  professed  witchcraft,  and  affected  to 
be  a  prophetess.  In  this  manner  she  conducted  herself, 
’till  she  became  so  great  a  favorite  with  them,  that  they 
gave  her  full  liberty  and  honored  her  as  a  queen.  Not¬ 
withstanding  this,  Mrs.  Dennis  was  always  determined  to 
effect  her  escape,  when  a  favorable  opportunity  should 
occur;  and  having  remained  so  long  with  them,  appar¬ 
ently  well  satisfied,  they  ceased  to  entertain  any  suspicions 
of  such  a  design. 

In  June  1763,  she  left  the  Chilicothe  towns,  ostensibly 
to  procure  herbs  for  medicinal  purposes,  (as  she  had  be¬ 
fore  frequently  done,)  but  really  to  attempt  an  escape.  As 
she  did  not  return  that  night,  her  intention  became  sus¬ 
pected  ;  and  in  the  morning,  some  warriors  were  sent  in 
pursuit  of  her.  In  order  to  leave  as  little  trail  as  possible, 
she  had  crossed  the  Scioto  river  three  times,  and  was  just 
getting  over  the  fourth  time  40  miles  below  the  towns, 
when  she  was  discovered  by  her  pursuers.  They  fired  at 
her  across  the  river  without  effect;  but  in  endeavoring  to 
make  a  rapid  flight,  she  had  one  of  her  feet  severely  cut 
by  a  sharp  stone. 

The  Indians  then  rushed  across  the  river  to  overtake 
and  catch  her,  but  she  eluded  them  by  crawling  into  the 
hollow  limb,  of  a  large  fallen  sycamore.  They  searched 
around  for  her  some  time,  frequently  stepping  on  the  log 
which  concealed  her;  and  encamped  near  it  that  night. 
On  the  next  day  they  went  on  to  the  Ohio  river,  but  find¬ 
ing  no  trace  of  her,  they  returned  home. 

Mrs.  Dennis  remained  at  that  place  three  days,  doc- 

1  In  1763-65,  the  great  Shawnee  village  just  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Scioto  (site  of  Alexandria,  O.),  was  destroyed  by  floods.  Some  of  the 
tribesmen  rebuilt  their  town  on  a  higher  bottom  just  above  the  mouth 
(site  of  Portsmouth,  O.),  while  others  ascended  the  Scioto  and  built 
successively  Old  and  New  Chillicothe.— P.  G.  T. 


93 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

toring  her  wound,  and  then  set  off  for  home.  She  crossed 
the  Ohio  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Great  Kenhawa,  on  a  log 
of  driftwood,  travelling  only  during  the  night,  for  fear  of 
discovery — She  subsisted  on  roots,  herbs,  green  grapes, 
wild  cherries  and  river  muscles — and  entirely  exhausted 
by  fatigue  and  hunger,  sat  down  by  the  side  of  Green¬ 
brier  river,  with  no  expectation  of  ever  proceeding  farther. 
In  this  situation  she  was  found  by  Thomas  Athol  and 
three  others  from  Clendennin’s  settlement,  which  she  had 
passed  without  knowing  it.  She  had  been  then  upwards 
of  twenty  days  on  her  disconsolate  journey,  alone,  on 
foot — but  ’till  then,  cheered  with  the  hope  of  again  being 
with  her  friends. 

She  was  taken  hack  to  Clendennin’s,  where  they 
kindly  [70]  ministered  to  her,  ’till  she  became  so  far  invig¬ 
orated,  as  to  travel  on  horseback  with  an  escort,  to  Fort 
Young  on  Jackson’s  river;  from  whence  she  was  carried 
home  to  her  relations. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  after  Hannah  Dennis  had 
gone  from  Clendennins,  a  party  of  about  sixty  warriors 
came  to  the  settlement  on  Muddy  creek,  in  the  county  of 
Greenbrier.  That  region  of  country  then  contained  no 
inhabitants,  hut  those  on  Muddy  creek,  and  in  the  Levels  ; 
and  these  are  believed  to  have  consisted  of  at  least  one 
hundred  souls.  The  Indians  came  apparently  as  friends, 
and  the  French  war  having  been  terminated  by  the  treaty 
of  the  preceding  spring,  the  whites  did  not  for  an  in¬ 
stant  doubt  their  sincerity.  They  were  entertained  in 
small  parties  at  different  houses,  and  every  civility  and  act 
of  kindness,  which  the  new  settlers  could  proffer,  were  ex¬ 
tended  to  them.  In  a  moment  of  the  most  perfect  confi¬ 
dence  in  the  innocense  of  their  intentions,  the  Indians 
rose  on  them  and  tomahawked  and  scalped  all,  save  a  few 
women  and  children  of  whom  they  made  prisoners. 

After  the  perpetration  of  this  most  barbarous  and 
bloody  outrage,  the  Indians  (excepting  some  few  who  took 
charge  of  the  prisoners)  proceeded  to  the  settlement  in 
the  Levels.  Here,  as  at  Muddy  creek,  they  disguised 
their  horrid  purpose,  and  wearing  the  mask  of  friendship, 


94 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


were  kindly  received  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Clendennin.1 
This  gentleman  had  just  returned  from  a  successful  hunt, 
and  brought  home  three  fine  elks — these  and  the  novelty 
of  being  with  friendly  Indians ,  soon  drew  the  whole  set¬ 
tlement  to  his  house.  Here  too  the  Indians  were  well 
entertained  and  feasted  on  the  fruit  of  Clendennin’s  hunt, 
and  every  other  article  of  provision  which  was  there,  and 
could  minister  to  their  gratification.  An  old  woman,  who 
was  of  the  party,  having  a  very  sore  leg  and  having  un¬ 
derstood  that  Indians  could  perform  a  cure  of  any  ulcer, 
shewed  it  to  one  near  her;  and  asked  if  he  could  heal  it 
— The  inhuman  monster  raised  his  tomahawk  and  buried 
it  in  her  head.  This  seemed  to  be  the  signal  of  a  general 
massacre  and  promptly  was  it  obeyed — nearly  every  man  of 
the  settlement  was  killed  and  the  women  and  children 
taken  captive. 

While  this  tragedy  was  acting,  a  negro  woman,  who 
was  [71]  endeavoring  to  escape,  was  followed  by  her  cry¬ 
ing  child. — To  save  it  from  savage  butchery,  she  turned 
round  and  murdered  it  herself. 

Mrs.  Clendennin,  driven  to  despair  by  the  cruel  and 
unprovoked  murder  of  her  husband  and  friends,  and  the 
spoliation  and  destruction  of  all  their  property,  boldly 
charged  the  Indians  with  perfidy  and  treachery ;  and  al¬ 
leged  that  cowards  only  could  act  with  such  duplicity. 
The  bloody  scalp  of  her  husband  was  thrown  in  her  face 
— the  tomahawk  was  raised  over  her  head ;  but  she  did 
not  cease  to  revile  them.  In  going  over  Keeny’s  knot  on 
the  next  day,  the  prisoners  being  in  the  centre,  and  the 
Indians  in  the  front  and  rear,  she  gave  her  infant  child  to 
one  of  the  women  to  hold  for  a  while. — She  then  stepped 
into  the  thicket  unperceived,  and  made  her  escape.  The 
crying  of  the  infant  soon  lead  to  a  discovery  of  her  flight 
— one  of  the  Indians  observed  that  he  could  “  bring  the 
cow  to  her  calf,”  and  taking  the  child  by  the  heels,  beat 
out  its  brains  against  a  tree. 

Mrs.  Clendennin  returned  that  night  to  her  home,  a 
distance  of  ten  miles;  and  covering  the  body  of  her  hus- 


1  Where  Ballard  Smith  now  resides. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


95 


band  with  rails  and  trash,  retired  into  an  adjoining  corn 
field,  lest  she  might  be  pursued  and  again  taken  prisoner. 
While  in  the  corn  field,  her  mind  was  much  agitated  by 
contending  emotions;  and  the  prospect  of  effecting  an  es¬ 
cape  to  the  settlements,  seemed  to  her  dreary  and  hopeless. 
In  a  moment  of  despondency,  she  thought  she  beheld  a 
man,  with  the  aspect  of  a  murderer,  standing  near  her ; 
and  she  became  overwhelmed  with  fear.  It  was  but  the 
creature  of  a  sickly  and  terrified  imagination ;  and  when 
her  mind  regained  its  proper  tone,  she  resumed  her  flight 
and  reached  the  settlement  in  safety.1 

These  melancholy  events  occurring  so  immediately 
after  the  escape  of  Hannah  Dennis ;  and  the  unwillingness 
of  the  Indians  that  she  should  be  separated  from  them, 
has  induced  the  supposition  that  the  party  committing 
those  dreadful  outrages  were  in  pursuit  of  her.  If  such 
were  the  fact,  dearly  were  others  made  to  pay  the  penalty 
of  her  deliverance. 

This  and  other  incidents,  similar  in  their  result,  satis¬ 
fied  the  whites  that  although  the  war  had  been  terminated 
on  the  part  of  the  French;  yet  it  was  likely  to  be  contin¬ 
ued  with  all  its  horrors,  by  their  savage  allies.  This  was 
then,  and  has  since  been,  attributed  to  the  smothered  hos¬ 
tility  of  the  French  in  [72]  Canada  and  on  the  Ohio  river; 
and  to  the  influence  which  they  had  acquired  over  the 
Indians.  This  may  have  had  its  bearing  on  the  event; 
but  from  the  known  jealousy  entertained  by  the  Indians, 
of  the  English  Colonists;  their  apprehensions  that  they 
would  be  dispossessed  of  the  country,  which  they  then  held 
(England  claiming  jurisdiction  over  it  by  virtue  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris ;)  and  their  dissatisfaction  at  the  terms  on 
which  France  had  negotiated  a  peace,  were  in  themselves 
sufficient  to  induce  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  Indians. 
Charity  would  incline  to  the  belief  that  the  continuance 
of  the  war  was  rightly  attributable  to  these  causes — the 
other  reason  assigned  for  it,  supposing  the  existence  of  a 


1  Further  particulars  of  this  captivity  are  in  Rovall’s  Sketches  of  His¬ 
tory,  Life,  and  Manners  in  U.  S.  (New  Haven,  1826),  pp.  60-66. — R.  G.  T. 


96 


Withers's  Chronicles 


depravity,  so  deep  and  damning,  as  almost  to  stagger  cre¬ 
dulity  itself. 

In  October,  1764,  about  fifty  Delaware  and  Mingo 
warriors  ascended  the  Great  Sandy  and  came  over  on  New 
river,  where  they  separated;  and  forming  two  parties,  di¬ 
rected  their  steps  toward  different  settlements — one  party 
going  toward  Roanoke  and  Catawba — the  other  in  the  di¬ 
rection  of  Jackson’s  river.  They  had  not  long  passed, 
when  their  trail  was  discovered  by  three  men,  (Swope, 
Pack  and  Pitman)  who  were  trapping  on  New  river. 
These  men  followed  the  trail  till  they  came  to  where  the 
Indian  party  had  divided;  and  judging  from  the  routes 
which  had  been  taken,  that  their  object  was  to  visit  the 
Roanoke  and  Jackson’s  fiver  settlements,  they  determined 
on  apprizing  the  inhabitants  of  their  danger.  Swope  and 
Pack  set  out  for  Roanoke  and  Pitman  for  Jackson’s  river. 
But  before  they  could  accomplish  their  object,  the  Indians 
had  reached  the  settlements  on  the  latter  river,  and  on 
Catawba. 

The  Party  which  came  to  Jackson’s  river,  travelled 
down  Dunlap’s  creek  and  crossed  James  river,  above  Fort 
Young,  in  the  night  and  unnoticed;  and  going  down  this 
river  to  William  Carpenter’s,  where  was  a  stockade  fort 
under  the  care  of  a  Mr.  Brown,  they  met  Carpenter  just 
above  his  house  and  killed  him.  They  immediately  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  the  house,  and  made  prisoners  of  a  son  of  Mr. 
Carpenter,  two  sons  of  Mr.  Brown1  [73]  (all  small  children) 

1  Carpenter’s  son  (since  Doctor  Carpenter  of  Nicholas)  came  home 
about  fifteen  years  afterwards — Browm’s  youngest  son,  (the  late  Col. 
Samuel  Brown  of  Greenbrier)  was  brought  home  in  1769 — the  elder  son 
never  returned.  He  took  an  Indian  wife,  became  wealthy  and  lived  at 
Brown’s  town  in  Michigan.  He  acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  late  war 
and  died  in  1815. 

Comment  by  L.  C.  D. — Adam  Brown,  who  wTas  captured  as  mentioned 
in  the  above  text  and  note,  was  thought  by  his  last  surviving  son,  Adam 
Brown,  Jr.,  whom  I  visited  in  Kansas  in  1868,  to  have  been  about  six  years 
old  when  taken  ;  and  he  died,  he  thought,  about  1817,  at  about  seventy- 
five  years  of  age.  But  these  dates,  and  his  probable  age,  do  not  agree ;  he 
was  either  older  when  taken,  or  not  so  old  at  his  death.  The  mother 
was  killed  when  the  sons  were  captured,  and  the  father  and  some  others 
of  the  family  escaped.  The  late  William  Walker,  an  educated  Wyandott, 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


97 


and  one  woman — the  others  belonging  to  the  house,  were 
in  the  held  at  work.  The  Indians  then  dispoiled  the  house 
and  taking  off  some  horses,  commenced  a  precipitate  re¬ 
treat — fearing  discovery  and  pursuit. 

When  Carpenter  was  shot,  the  report  of  the  gun  was 
heard  by  those  at  work  in  the  field ;  and  Brown  carried 
the  alarm  to  Fort  Young.  In  consequence,  of  the  weak¬ 
ness  of  this  fort,  a  messenger  was  despatched  to  Fort 
Dinwiddle,  with  the  intelligence.  Capt.  Paul  (who  still 
commanded  there,)  immediately  commenced  a  pursuit  with 
twenty  of  his  men ;  and  passing  out  at  the  head  of  Dun¬ 
lap’s  creek,  descended  Indian  creek  and  Yew  river  to  Piney 
creek;  without  making  any  discovery  of  the  enemy.  On 
Indian  creek  they  met  Pitman,  who  had  been  running  all 
the  day  and  night  before,  to  apprise  the  garrison  at  Fort 
Young  of  the  approach  of  the  Indians.  Pitman  joined  in 
pursuit  of  the  party  who  had  killed  Carpenter ;  but  they, 
apprehending  that  they  would  be  followed,  had  escaped  to 
Ohio,  by  the  way  of  Greenbrier  and  Kenhawa  rivers.1 

As  Capt.  Paul  and  his  men  were  returning,  they  acci¬ 
dently  met  with  the  other  party  of  Indians,  who  had  been 

and  at  one  time  territorial  governor  of  Kansas,  stated  to  me,  that  the 
AVyandotts  never  made  chiefs  of  white  captives,  but  that  they  often  at¬ 
tained,  by  their  merits,  considerable  consequence.  It  is,  however,  certain 
that  Abraham  Kuhn,  a  white  prisoner,  grew  up  among  the  AVyandotts, 
and,  according  to  Heckewelder,  became  a  war  chief  among  them,  and 
signed  the  treaty  at  Big  Beaver  in  1785 ;  and  Adam  Browm  himself  signed 
the  treaties  of  1805  and  1808,  and  doubtless  would  have  signed  later  ones 
had  he  not  sided  with  the  British  AVyandotts,  and  retired  to  Canada, 
near  Maiden,  where  he  died. 

1  It  is  highly  probable  that  this  foray  took  place  in  1763.  During 
this  year,  as  features  of  the  Pontiac  uprising,  bloody  forays  were  made 
on  the  more  advanced  settlements  on  Jackson,  Greenbrier,  and  Calf  Pas¬ 
ture  rivers,  and  several  severe  contests  ensued  between  -whites  and 
Indians.  Captains  Moffett  and  Phillips,  with  sixty  rangers,  were  am¬ 
buscaded  with  the  loss  of  fifteen  men.  Col.  Charles  Lewis  pursued  the 
savages  with  150  volunteers  raised  in  a  single  night,  and  on  October  3rd 
surprised  them  at  the  head  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Potomac,  killing 
twenty-one,  with  no  wThite  losses.  The  spoils  of  this  victory,  beside  the 
“  five  horses  with  all  their  trappings,”  sold  for  £250.  This  wras  the  most 
notable  of  the  several  skirmishes  which  took  place  on  the  Virginia  fron¬ 
tier,  that  year. — R.  G.  T. 

7 


98 


Withers's  Chronicles 


to  Catawba,  and  committed  some  depredations  and  murders 
there.  They  were  discovered  about  midnight,  encamped 
on  the  north  bank  of  New  river,  opposite  an  island  at  the 
mouth  of  Indian  creek.  Excepting  some  few  who  were 
watching  three  prisoners,  (whom  they  had  taken  on  Ca¬ 
tawba,  and  who  were  sitting  in  the  midst  of  them,)  they 
were  lying  around  a  small  fire,  wrapped  in  skins  and  blan¬ 
kets.  Paul’s  men  not  knowing  that  there  were  captives 
among  them,  fired  in  the  midst,  killed  three  Indians,  and 
wounded  several  others,  one  of  whom  drowned  himself  to 
preserve  his  scalp — the  rest  of  the  party  fled  hastily  down 
the  river  and  escaped. 

In  an  instant  after  the  firing,  Capt.  Paul  and  his  men 
rushed  forward  to  secure  the  wounded  and  prevent  further 
escapes.  One  of  the  foremost  of  his  party  seeing,  as  he 
supposed,  a  squaw  sitting  composedly  awaiting  the  result, 
raised  his  tomahawk  and  just  as  it  was  descending,  Capt. 
Paul  threw  himself  between  the  assailant  and  his  victim; 
and  receiving  the  blow  on  his  arm,  exclaimed,  “It  is  a 
shame  to  hurt  a  woman,  even  a  squaw.”  Recognising  the 
voice  of  Paul,  the  woman  named  him.  She  was  Mrs. 
Catharine  Gunn,  an  English  lady,  who  had  come  to  the 
country  some  years  before;  and  who,  previously  to  her 
marriage,  had  lived  in  the  family  of  Capt.  Paul’s  father-in- 
law,  where  she  became  acquainted  with  that  gentleman — 
She  had  been  taken  captive  by  the  Indians,  on  the  Cataw¬ 
ba,  a  few  days  before,  when  her  husband  and  two  only  chil¬ 
dren  were  killed  by  them.  When  questioned  why  she  had 
not  cried  out,  or  otherwise  made  known  that  she  was  a 
white  prisoner,  she  replied,  “I  had  as  soon  be  killed  as  not 
— my  husband  is  murdered — my  children  are  slain — my 
parents  are  dead.  I  have  not  a  relation  in  America — every 
thing  dear  to  me  here  is  gone — I  have  no  wishes — no  hopes 
— no  fears — 1  would  not  have  risen  to  my  feet  to  save  my 
life.” 

[74]  When  Capt.  Paul  came  on  the  enemy’s  camp,  he 
silently  posted  his  men  in  an  advantageous  situation  for 
doing  execution,  and  made  arrangements  for  a  simultane¬ 
ous  fire.  To  render  this  the  more  deadly  and  efficient, 
they  dropped  on  one  knee,  and  were  preparing  to  take  de- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


99 


liberate  aim,  when  one  of  them  (John  M’Oollum)  called 
to  his  comrades,  “  Pull  steady  and  send  them  all  to  hell.” 
This  ill  timed  expression  of  anxious  caution,  gave  the 
enemy  a  moment’s  warning  of  their  danger;  and  is  the 
reason  why  greater  execution  was  not  done. 

The  Indians  had  left  all  their  guns,  blankets  and 
plunder — these  together  with  the  three  white  captives, 
were  taken  by  Capt.  Paul  to  Fort  Dinwiddie.1 

1  Perhaps  this  affair  is  that  related  by  Capt.  William  Christian,  in 
a  letter  dated  Roanoke,  Oct.  19th,  1763,  as  published  in  the  gazettes  of 
that  day — there  are,  at  least,  some  suggestive  similarities:  “Being 
joined  by  Capt.  Hickenbotham,  with  twenty-five  of  the  Amherst  militia, 
we  marched  on  Tuesday  last,  to  Winston’s  Meadows,  where  our  scouts 
informed  us,  that  they  had  discovered  a  party  of  Indians  about  three 
miles  off.  Night  coming  on,  prevented  our  meeting  them ;  and  next 
day,  being  rainy,  made  it  difficult  to  follow  their  tracks.  As  they  were 
on  their  return,  Capt.  Hickenbotham  marched  to  join  Capt.  Ingles  down 
New  River.  I,  with  nineteen  men  and  my  ensign,  took  a  different 
route  inquest  of  them.  We  marched  next  day  on  their  tracks  until 
two  hours  before  sunset,  when  we  heard  some  guns,  and  soon  afterwards 
discovered  three  large  fires,  which  appeared  to  be  on  the  bank  of  Turkey 
Creek,  where  it  empties  into  New  river.  Upon  this  we  immediately  ad¬ 
vanced,  and  found  they  were  on  an  island.  Being  within  gun-shot,  we 
fired  on  them,  and  loading  again,  forded  the  creek.  The  Indians,  after 
killing  Jacob  Kimberlain,  a  prisoner  they  had  with  them,  made  but  a 
slight  resistence,  and  ran  off.  We  found  one  Indian  killed  on  the  spot, 
and,  at  a  little  distance,  four  blankets  shot  through,  and  very  bloody. 
We  took  all  their  bundles,  four  guns,  eight  tomahawks,  and  two  mares. 
They  had  several  other  horses,  which  being  frightened  by  the  firing, 
ran  off  and  were  lost.  The  party  consisted  of  upwards  of  twenty  In¬ 
dians.  By  the  tracks  of  blood,  we  imagined  several  of  them  were 
wounded.”  This  affair  occurred  Oct.  12th. — L.  C.  D. 


100 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[75]  CHAPTER  IV. 

During  the  continuance  of  the  French  war,  and  of 
that  with  the  Indians  which  immediately  succeeded  it,  the 
entire  frontier  from  Hew  York  to  Georgia  was  exposed  to 
the  merciless  fury  of  the  savages.  In  no  instance  were  the 
measures  of  defence  adopted  by  the  different  colonies,  ade¬ 
quate  to  their  object. — From  some  unaccountable  fatuity 
in  those  who  had  the  direction  of  this  matter,  a  defensive 
war,  which  alone  could  have  checked  aggression  and  pre¬ 
vented  the  effusion  of  blood,  was  delayed  ’till  the  whole 
population,  of  the  country  west  of  the  Blue  ridge,  had  re¬ 
tired  east  of  those  mountains ;  or  were  cooped  up  in  forts.. 

The  chief  means  of  defence  employed,  were  the 
militia  of  the  adjoining  counties,  and  the  establishment  of 
a  line  of  forts  and  block-houses,  dispersed  along  a  con¬ 
siderable  extent  of  country,  and  occupied  by  detachments 
of  British  colonial  troops,  or  by  militiamen.  All  these 
were  utterly  incompetent  to  effect  security ;  partly  from 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  somewhat  from  the  en¬ 
tire  want  of  discipline,  and  the  absence  of  that  subordina¬ 
tion  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  render  an  army 
effective. 

So  great  and  apparent  were  the  insubordination  and 
remissness  of  duty,  on  the  part  of  the  various  garrisons, 
that  Gen.  Washington,  declared  them  “  utterly  inefficient 
and  useless ;  ”  and  the  inhabitants  themselves,  could  place 
no  reliance  whatever  on  them,  for  protection.  In  a  par¬ 
ticular  instance,  such  were  the  inattention  and  carelessness 
of  the  garrison  that  several  children  playing  under  the 
walls  of  the  fort,  were  run  down  and  caught  by  the  In¬ 
dians,  who  were  not  discovered  ’till  they  arrived  at  the 
very  gate.1 

In  Virginia  the  error  of  confiding  on  the  militia,  soon 


1  At  Dickenson’s  fort  in  1755. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


101 


became  apparent.1  TJpen  the  earnest  remonstrance  and  en¬ 
treaty  of  General  Washington,  the  colonial  legislature 
substituted  a  force  of  regulars,2  [76]  which  at  once  effected 
the  partial  security  of  her  frontier,  and  gave  confidence  to 
the  inhabitants. 

In  Pennsylvania,  from  the  pacific  disposition  of  her 
rulers  and  their  abhorrence  of  war  of  any  kind,  her  border 
settlements  suffered  most  severely.  The  whole  extent  of 
her  frontier  was  desolated  by  the  Indians,  and  irruptions 
were  frequently  made  by  them  into  the  interior.  The  es¬ 
tablishments,  which  had  been  made  in  the  Conocoeheague 
valley,  were  altogether  broken  up  and  scenes  of  the  great¬ 
est  barbarity,  on  one  side,  and  of  the  utmost  suffering  on 
the  other,  were  constantly  exhibiting.  A  few  instances 
of  this  suffering  and  of  that  barbarity,  may  not  be  im¬ 
properly  adduced  here.  They  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
condition  of  those  who  were  within  reach  of  the  savage 
enemy ;  and  perhaps,  to  palliate  the  enormities  practiced 
on  the  Christian  Indians. 

In  the  fall  of  1754  about  forty  or  fifty  Indians  entered 
that  province,  and  dividing  themselves  into  two  parties, 
sought  the  unprotected  settlements,  for  purposes  of  mur¬ 
der  and  devastation :  the  smaller  party  went  about  the 
forks  of  Delaware — the  other  directing  their  steps  along 
the  Susquehanna.  On  the  2nd  of  October,  twelve  of  the 
former  appeared  before  the  house  of  Peter  Williamson,  (a 
Scotchman,  with  no  family  but  his  wife,)  who  had  made 
considerable  improvement  near  the  Delaware  river.  Mrs. 
Williamson  being  from  home,  he  sat  up  later  than  usual, 
and  about  11  o’clock  was  astounded  at  the  savage  war 
whoop,  resounding  from  various  directions,  near  to  the 
house.  Going  to  the  window,  he  perceived  several  Indians 
standing  in  the  yard,  one  of  whom,  in  broken  English, 
promised  that  if  he  would  come  out  and  surrender  he 

1  When  the  Indians  were  most  troublesome,  and  threatening  even 
the  destruction  of  Winchester,  Lord  Fairfax  who  was  commandant  of 
the  militia  of  Frederick  and  Hampshire,  ordered  them  out.  Three  days 
active  exertion  on  his  part,  brought  only  20  in  the  field. 

2  Rather  rangers,  who  seem  to  have  been  enlisted  to  serve  a  year, 
a,nd  were  re-engaged  when  necessary. — L.  C.  D. 


102 


Withers's  Chronicles 


should  not  be  killed;  threatening  at  the  same  time  that 
if  he  did  not,  they  would  burn  him  up  in  his  house.  Un¬ 
able  to  offer  an  effectual  resistance,  and  preferring  the 
chance  of  safety  by  .surrendering,  to  the  certainty  of  a 
horrid  death  if  he  attempted  an  opposition,  he  yielded 
himself  up  a  prisoner. 

So  soon  as  he  was  in  their  power  they  plundered  the 
house  of  such  articles  as  they  could  conveniently  take  with 
them,  and  set  fire  to  it,  and  to  the  barn,  in  which  was  a 
quantity  of  wheat,  some  horses  and  other  cattle.  After 
inflicting  some  severe  tortures  on  Williamson,  and  forcing 
him  to  carry  a  heavy  wreight  of  the  plunder,  which  they 
had  taken  from  him,  they  went  to  a  neighboring  house, 
occupied  by  Jacob  Snyder,  his  wife,  five  children  and  a 
servant.  The  piercing  cries,  and  [77]  agonizing  shrieks* 
of  these  poor  creatures,  made  no  impression  on  the  sav¬ 
ages.  The  father,  mother,  and  children  were  tomahawked 
and  scalped,  and  their  bodies  consumed  by  fire  together 
with  the  house.  The  servant  was  spared  that  he  might 
aid  in  carrying  their  plunder ;  but  manifesting  deep  dis¬ 
tress  at  his  situation  as  prisoner,  he  was  tomahawked  be¬ 
fore  they  proceeded  far. 

Before  they  could  accomplish  farther  mischief  a  fall' 
of  snow,  making  them  apprehensive  that  they  would  be 
pursued  by  the  united  force  of  the  settlement,  induced 
them  to  return  to  Alamingo — taking  Williamson  with 
them. 

On  their  way  back,  they  met  with  the  party  of 
Indians,  which  had  separated  from  them,  as  they  ap¬ 
proached  the  settlements.  *  These  had  been  lower  down 
on  the  Susquehanna,  and  had  succeeded  in  making  greater 
havoc,  and  committing  more  depredations,  than  it  had 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  those  who  had  taken  Williamson,  to 
commit.  They  had  with  them  three  prisoners  and  twenty 
scalps.  According  to  the  account  of  their  transactions  as 
detailed  by  the  prisoners,  they  had  on  one  day  killed  and 
scalped  John  Lewis,  his  wife  and  three  children,  and  in  a 
few  days  after  had  murdered,  with  almost  every  circum¬ 
stance  of  cruelty,  Jacob  Miller,  his  wife  and  six  children, 
and  George  Folke,  his  wife  and  nine  children,  cutting  up 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


103 


the  bodies  of  the  latter  family  and  giving  them  piece-meal 
to  the  hogs  in  the  pen.  Wherever  they  had  been,  de¬ 
struction  marked  their  course.  In  every  instance  the 
houses,  barns  and  grain  stacks  were  consumed  by  lire; 
and  the  stock  killed. 

The  three  prisoners  who  had  been  brought  in  by  the 
last  party,  endeavored  soon  after  to  effect  an  escape ;  hut 
their  ignorance  of  the  country,  and  the  persevering  ac¬ 
tivity  and  vigilance  of  the  Indians,  prevented  the  accom¬ 
plishment  of  their  attempt.  They  were  overtaken,  and 
brought  back ;  and  then  commenced  a  series  of  cruelties, 
tortures  and  death,  sufficient  to  shock  the  sensibilities  of 
the  most  obdurate  heart,  if  unaccustomed  to  the  perpetra¬ 
tion  of  such  enormities. 

Two  of  them  were  tied  to  trees,  around  which  large 
fires  were  kindled,  and  they  suffered  to  remain  for  some 
time,  in  the  gradual  but  horrible  state  of  being  scorched 
to  death.  After  the  Indians  had  enjoyed  awhile  the 
writhings  of  agony  and  the  tears  of  anguish,  which  were 
drawn  from  these  suffering  victims,  one,  stepping  within 
the  circle,  ripped  open  their  bodies  and  threw  their  bowels 
into  the  flames.  Others,  to  emulate  [78]  this  most  shock¬ 
ing  deed,  approached,  and  with  knives,  burning  sticks, 
and  heated  irons,  continued  to  lacerate,  pierce  and  tear 
the  flesh  from  their  breasts,  arms  and  legs,  ’till  death 
closed  the  scene  of  horrors  and  rendered  its  victims  in¬ 
sensible  to  its  pains. 

The  third  was  reserved  a  few  hours,  that  he  might  be 
sacrificed  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  enormity.  A 
hole  being  dug  in  the  ground  of  a  depth  sufficient  to  en¬ 
able  him  to  stand  upright,  with  his  head  only  exposed, 
his  arms  were  pinioned  to  his  body,  he  placed  in  it,  and 
the  loose  earth  thrown  in  and  rammed  closelv  around  him. 

4/ 

He  was  then  scalped  and  permitted  to  remain  in  that  sit¬ 
uation  for  several  hours.  A  fire  was  next  kindled  near 
his  head.  In  vain  did  the  poor  suffering  victim  of  hellish 
barbarity  exclaim,  that  his  brains  were  boiling  in  his 
head  ;  and  entreat  the  mercy  of  instant  death.  Deaf  to 
his  cries,  and  inexorable  to  his  entreaties,  they  continued 


104 


Withers's  Chronicles 


the  fire  ’till  his  eye  balls  burst  and  gushed  from  their  sock¬ 
ets,  and  death  put  a  period  to  his  sufferings. 

Of  all  these  horrid  spectacles,  Williamson  was  an  un¬ 
willing  spectator;  and  supposing  that  he  was  reserved  for 
some  still  more  cruel  and  barbarous  fate,  determined  on 
escaping.  This  he  was  soon  enabled  to  do;  and  returned 
to  the  settlements.1 

The  frequent  infliction  of  such  enormities  as  these 
upon  the  helpless  and  unoffending  women  and  children, 
as  well  as  upon  those  who  were  more  able  to  resist  and 
better  qualified  to  endure  them ;  together  with  the  desola¬ 
tion  of  herds,  the  devastation  of  crops,  and  the  conflagration 
of  houses  which  invariably  characterized  those  incursions, 
engendered  a  general  feeling  of  resentment,  that  sought 
in  some  instances,  to  wreak  itself  on  those  who  were 
guiltless  of  any  participation  in  those  bloody  deeds.  That 
vindictive  spirit  led  to  the  perpetration  of  offences  against 
humanity,  not  less  atrocious  than  those  which  they  were 
intended  to  requite;  and  which  obliterated  every  discrim¬ 
inative  feature  between  the  perpetrators  of  them,  and 
their  savage  enemies. 

The  Canestoga  Indians,  to  the  number  of  forty,  lived 
in  a  village,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lancaster;  they  were  in 
amity  with  the  whites,  and  had  been  in  peace  and  quiet 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  An  association  of  men, 
denominated  the  “  Paxton  boys,”  broke  into  their  little 
town  and  murdered  all  who  were  found  at  home — four¬ 
teen  men,  women  and  children  fell  a  prey  to  the  savage 
brutality  of  those  sons  of  civilization  [79].  The  safety  of 
the  others  was  sought  to  be  effected,  by  confining  them  in 
the  jail  at  Lancaster.  It  was  in  vain.  The  walls  of  a 
prison  could  afford  no  protection,  from  the  relentless  fury 
of  these  exasperated  men.  The  jail  doors  were  broken 

1  Peter  Williamson  had  singular  adventures.  When  a  boy  he  was 
kidnapped  at  Aberdeen,  and  sent  to  America,  for  which  he  afterwards 
recovered  damages.  It  is  said  that  he  passed  a  considerable  period 
"among  the  Cherokees.  He  instituted  the  first  penny  post  at  Edinburgh, 
for  which,  when  the  government  assumed  it,  he  received  a  pension. 
His  Memoirs,  and  French  and  Indian  Cruelty  Examplified ,  were  works  of 
interest.  He  died  in  Edinburgh  in  1799. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


105 


open,  and  its  wretched  inmates  cruelly  murdered. — And, 
as  if  their  deaths  could  not  satiate  their  infuriate  murder¬ 
ers,  their  bodies  were  brutally  mangled,  the  hands  and 
feet  lopped  off,  and  scalps  torn  from  the  bleeding  heads 
of  innocent  infants. 

A  similar  fate  impended  the  Christian  Indians  of 
Hequetank  and  Nain ;  and  was  only  averted,  by  the  timely 
interposition  of  the  government  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
were  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  they  remained  from 
November  1763  ’till  after  the  close  of  the  war  in  December 
1764  ;  during  which  time  the  Paxton  hoys  twice  assembled 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  for  the  purpose  of  assault¬ 
ing  tiie  barracks  and  murdering  the  Indians,  but  were 
deterred  by  the  military  preparations  made  to  oppose 
them;  and  ultimately,  but  reluctantly,  desisted. 

Had  the  feelings  excited  in  the  minds  of  these  mis¬ 
guided  men,  by  the  cruelties  of  the  Indians,  been  properly 
directed,  it  would  have  produced  a  quite  different  result. 
If,  instead  of  avenging  the  outrages  of  others,  upon  those 
who  were  no  otherwise  guilty  than  in  the  complexion  of  their 
skin,  they  had  directed  their  exertions  to  the  repressing 
of  invasion,  and  the  punishment  of  its  authors,  much  good 
might  have  been  achieved;  and  they,  instead  of  being 
stigmatized  as  murderers  of  the  innocent,  would  have 
been  hailed  as  benefactors  of  the  border  settlements.  As¬ 
sociations  of  this  kind  were  formed  in  that  province,  and 
-contributed  no  little  to  lessen  the  frequency  of  Indian 
massacres,  and  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  the 
destruction  of  property.  At  the  time  the  Paxton  boys 
were  meditating  and  endeavoring  to  effect  the  destruction 
of  the  peaceable  Christian  Indians,  another  company,  formed 
by  voluntary  league,  was  actively  engaged  in  checking 
the  intrusions,  of  those  who  were  enemies,  and  in  punish¬ 
ing  their  aggressions.  A  company  of  riflemen,  called  the 
Black  boys  (from  the  fact  of  their  painting  themselves  red 
and  black,  after  the  Indian  fashion,)  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  James  Smith,  contributed  to  preserve  the  Cono- 
cocheague  valley,  during  the  years  1763  and  1764,  from 
the  devastation  [80]  which  had  overspread  it  early  after 
the  commencement  of  Braddock’s  war. 


106 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


Capt.  Smith  had  been  captured  by  the  Indians  in  the 
spring  of  1755,  and  remained  with  them  until  the  spring  of 
1759,  when  he  left  them  at  Montreal,  and  after  some  time 
arrived  at  home  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  in  Fort  du  Quesne, 
when  the  Indians  and  French  went  out  to  surprise  Gen. 
Braddock;  and  witnessed  the  burnings  and  other  dread¬ 
ful  tortures  inflicted  upon  those  who  were  so  unfortunate 
as  to  have  been  made  prisoners ;  and  the  orgies  and  de¬ 
moniacal  revels  with  which  the  victory  was  celebrated.  He 
was  subsequently  adopted  into  a  family,  by  which  he  was 
kindly  treated ;  and  became  well  acquainted  with  their 
manner  of  warfare,  and  the  various  arts  practised  by  them,, 
to  ensure  success  in  their  predatory  incursions,  and  after¬ 
wards  to  elude  pursuit.  He  became  satisfied  from  ob¬ 
servation,  that  to  combat  Indians  successfully,  they  must 
be  encountered  in  their  own  way;  and  he  accordingly 
instructed  his  men  in  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare,  dressed 
them  after  the  Indian  fashion,  and  fought  after  the  Indian 
manner.1 

An  instance  of  the  good  effect  resulting  from  prac¬ 
ticing  the  arts  and  stratagems  of  the  Indians,  occurred 
during  this  war;  and  to  its  success  the  garrison  of  Fort 
Pitt  were  indebted  for  their  preservation. 

After  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace  which  had 
been  concluded  between  England  and  France,  war  con- 

1  Col.  James  Smith  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.,  in  1737  ;  was 
captured  by  Indians  in  1755,  remaining  in  captivity  until  his  escape 
in  1759.  He  served  as  ensign  in  1763,  and  lieutenant  under  Bouquet 
in  1764 ;  he  was  a  leader,  for  several  years,  of  the  Black  Boys — a  sort  of 
regulators  of  the  traders  who,  the  Black  Boys  thought,  supplied  the  In¬ 
dians  with  the  munitions  of  war.  As  the  troubles  with  the  mother 
country  began,  Smith  was  selected  for  frontier  service,  and  held  civil  and 
military  positions — captain  in  the  Pennsylvania  line  ;  then  in  1777  as 
major  under  Washington;  in  1778,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
colonel  of  militia,  and  led  an  expedition  against  the  Indian  town  on 
French  Creek.  In  1788,  he  removed  to  Kentucky  ;  served  in  the  early 
Kentucky  conventions,  preparatory  to  State  organization,  and  also  in 
the  legislature.  He  did  missionary  work  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee, 
and  preached  among  the  Indians.  He  wrote  a  valuable  account  of  his 
Indian  captivity,  republished  a  few  years  since  by  Robert  Clarke  & 
Co.,  Cincinnati,  and  a  treatise  on  Indian  warfare,  besides  two  contro¬ 
versial  pamphlets  against  the  Shakers.  He  died  in  Washington  county, 
Ky.,  in  1812,  aged  about  seventy-five  years. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


10T 


tinued  to  be  waged  by  the  Indians  on  the  whole  western 
frontier.  A  large  body  of  them  had  collected  and  marched 
to  Fort  Pitt,  with  a  view  to  its  reduction  by  famine.  It 
had  been  invested  for  some  time  and  the  garrison  being 
too  weak  to  sally  out  and  give  battle  to  the  besiegers, 
Capt.  Ecuyer  dispatched  messengers  with  the  intelligence 
of  his  situation  and  a  request  for  aid  and  provisions : 
these  were  either  compelled  to  return  or  be  killed,  as  the 
country  for  some  distance  east  of  Fort  Pitt  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  savages.1 

At  length  a  quantity  of  provisions  were  ordered  by 
Gov.  Amherst  for  the  relief  of  the  fort,  and  forwarded 
under  a  strong  guard  commanded  by  Colonel  Boquet. 
The  Indians  were  soon  apprized  of  this  and  determined 
on  intercepting  the  provisions,  and  if  practicable,  to  pre¬ 
vent  their  reaching  the  place  of  their  destination.  With 
this  object  in  view,  a  considerable  force  was  detached,  to 
watch  the  motions  of  Col.  Boquet  and  [81]  upon  a  fa¬ 
vorable  opportunity  to  give  him  battle.  In  a  narrow  defile 
on  Turtle  creek  an  attack  was  made  by  the  Indians,  and 
a  severe  engagement  ensued.  Both  armies  fought  with 
the  most  obstinate  bravery,  from  one  o’clock  ’till  night,, 
and  in  the  morning  it  was  resumed,  and  continued  with 
unabated  fury  for  several  hours.  At  length  Col.  Boquet, 
having  placed  four  companies  of  infantry  and  grenadiers 
in  ambush,  ordered  a  retreat.  So  soon  as  this  was  com¬ 
menced,  the  Indians,  confident  of  victory,  pressed  forward 
with  considerable  impetuosity,  and  fell  into  the  ambus¬ 
cade.  This  decided  the  contest — the  Indians  were  repulsed 
with  great  slaughter  and  dispersed. 

The  loss  of  the  British,  in  killed  and  wounded,  ex¬ 
ceeded  one  hundred.  That  they  were  not  entirely  cut  off, 
was  attributable  to  the  stratagem  of  the  retreat  (a  favorite 
one  of  the  Indians ;)  the  success  of  which  not  only  saved 

1  Captain  Simeon  Ecuyer,  like  Bouquet,  was  a  native  of  Switzerland  ; 
he  did  good  service  on  the  frontiers,  especially  in  the  gallant  defense  of 
Fort  Pitt  in  1763.  He  became  disgusted  with  the  bad  conduct  of  his- 
soldiers,  especially  the  grenadiers,  and  begged  leave  to  resign.  “  For 
God’s  sake,”  he  implored  Bouquet,  “let  me  go,  and  raise  cabbages.”— 
L.  C.  D. 


108 


Withers’ s  Chronicles 


the  detachment  under  Col.  Boquet,  but  likewise  preserved 
Port  Pitt,  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  savage  foe. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  enemy,  must  have  equaled 
that  of  the  British;  several  of  their  most  distinguished 
chiefs  and  warriors,  were  of  the  number  of  the  slain :  and 
so  decisive  was  the  victory  obtained  over  them,  that  in  the 
succeeding  campaign  against  the  Indians  on  the  Mus¬ 
kingum,  Boquet  found  not  much  difficulty  in  bringing 
them  to  terms.  A  cessation  of  hostilities  was  agreed  to, 
upon  condition  that  they  would  give  up  all  the  whites 
then  detained  by  them  in  captivity.  Upwards  of  three 
hundred  prisoners  were  then  redeemed;  but  the  season 
being  far  advanced  and  the  others  scattered  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  it  was  stipulated,  that  they  should 
be  brought  into  Fort  Pitt  early  in  the  ensuing  spring;  and 
as  a  security  that  they  would  comply  with  this  condition 
of  the  armistice,  six  of  their  chiefs  were  delivered  up  as 
hostages — 'these  however  succeeded  in  making  their  escape 
before  the  army  arrived  at  Fort  Pitt.1 

The  ill  success  which  had  attended  the  combined  op¬ 
erations  of  the  Indians,  during  this  war,  the  difficulty  of 
procuring  ammunition  to  support  it,  and  the  fact  that  it 
had  begun  to  be  carried  into  their  own  country,  disposed 
them  to  make  peace.  A  treaty  was  accordingly  concluded 
with  them  by  Sir  William  Johnson  in  1765.  Previous  to 
this  however,  some  few  depredations  were  committed  by 

1  Henry  Bouquet  was  born  at  Rolle,  in  the  canton  of  Berne,  Switzer¬ 
land,  in  1721,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  into  the  service  of 
the  states  general  of  Holland ;  subsequently  engaged  under  the  banner 
of  Sardinia,  and  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  Cony.  In  1748,  he 
wras  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Swiss  guards,  in  the  service  of  Holland. 
At  length,  in  1756,  he  entered  the  English  army,  serving  in  the  Royal 
Americans,  and  co-operated  with  Gen.  Forbes  on  the  campaign  against 
Fort  l)u  Quesne,  repulsing  an  attack  of  French  and  Indians  on  Loyal 
Hanna.  He  afterwards  served  in  Canada,  and  was  sent  for  the  relief  of 
Fort  Pitt,  when  beleagured  in  1763.  While  marching  on  this  service, 
he  signally  defeated  the  Indians  at  Bushy  Run,  after  a  two  days’  en¬ 
gagement,  in  August  of  that  year,  and  relieved  Fort  Pitt.  In  1764,  he 
led  an  expedition  against  the  Ohio  Indians,  compelling  them  to  sue  for 
peace.  He  died  at  Pensacola,  September  2,  1765,  of  a  prevailing  fever, 
in  the  prime  of  life,  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years.  He  had  attained  the 
rank  of  general. — L.  C.  D. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


109 


the  Indians,  in  contravention  of  the  agreement  made  with 
them  by  Col.  Boquet;  and  which  induced  a  belief  that 
the  want  of  clothes  and  ammunition,  [82]  was  the  real 
cause  of  their  partial  forbearance.  It  was  therefore  of 
great  consequence,  to  prevent  their  obtaining  a  supply  of 
these  necessaries,  until  there  could  be  some  stronger  as¬ 
surance,  than  had  been  given,  of  their  pacific  disposition. 

Notwithstanding  the  prevalence  of  this  impression^ 
and  the  fact,  that  a  royal  proclamation  had  been  issued,  for¬ 
bidding  any  person  trading  with  the  Indians,  yet  in  March 
1765  a  number  of  wagons,  laden  with  goods  and  warlike 
stores  for  the  Indians,  was  sent  from  Philadelphia  to 
Henry  Pollens  of  Conococheague,  to  be  thence  transported 
on  pack  horses  to  Fort  Pitt.  This  very  much  alarmed  the 
country;  and  many  individuals  remonstrated  against  the 
propriety  of  supplying  the  Indians  at  that  particular  junct¬ 
ure  ;  alleging  the  wTell  known  fact,  that  they  were  then 
destitute  of  ammunition  and  clothing,  and  that  to  furnish 
them  with  those  articles,  would  be  to  aid  in  bringing  on 
another  frontier  war,  and  to  lend  themselves  to  the  com¬ 
mission  of  those  horrid  murders,  by  which  those  wars 
were  alwavs  distinguished.  Remonstrance  was  fruitless. 
The  gainful  trafiick  which  could  be  then  carried  on  with 
the  Indians,  banished  every  other  consideration ;  and  sev¬ 
enty  horses,  packed  with  goods,  were  directed  on  to  Fort 
Pitt. 

In  this  situation  of  things,  Capt.  James  Smith,  (who 
had  been  with  Boquet  during  the  campaign  of  1764,  and 
was  well  convinced  that  a  supply  at  that  time  of  clothing 
and  ammunition,  would  be  the  signal  for  the  recommence¬ 
ment  of  hostilities)  collected  ten  of  his  “  Black  boys,” 
painted  and  dressed  as  Indians  ;  and  waylaid  the  caravan, 
near  a  place  called  the  “  Side  long  Hill.”  He  disposed  his 
men  in  pairs,  behind  trees  along  the  road,  at  intervals  of 
about  60  yards,  with  orders  for  the  second  not  to  fire  ’till 
the  first  had  reloaded,  so  that  a  regular,  slow  fire  might  be 
maintained  at  once,  from  front  to  rear. 

As  soon  as  the  cavalcade  approached,  the  firing  com¬ 
menced,  and  the  pack  horses  beginning  to  fall  by  the  side 
of  their  conductors,  excited  the  fear  of  the  latter,  and  in- 


110 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


duced  them  to  cry  out  “  Gentlemen  what  would  you  have 
us  to  do.”  Captain  Smith  replied,  “  collect  all  your  loads 
to  the  front,  deposit  them  in  one  place;  take  your  private 
property  and  retire.”  These  things  were  accordingly 
done ;  and  the  goods  left  (consisting  of  blankets,  shirts, 
beads,  Vermillion,  powder,  lead,  tomahawks,  scalping 
knives,  &c.)  were  immediately  burned  or  otherwise  de¬ 
stroyed. 

[83]  The  traders  then  went  to  Fort  Loudon,  and  ob¬ 
taining  of  the  commanding  officer  a  party  of  Iligland 
soldiers,  proceeded  in  quest  of  the  Robbers  (as  they  termed 
them ;)  some  of  whom  were  taken  and  carried  into  the  Fort. 
Capt.  Smith  then  raised  about  300  riflemen,  and  marching 
to  Fort  Loudon,  occupied  a  position  on  an  eminence  near 
it.  He  had  not  been  long  there  before  he  had  more  than 
twice  as  many  of  the  garrison,  prisoners  in  his  camp,  as 
there  were  of  his  men  in  the  guard  house.  Under  a  flag 
of  truce  proceeding  from  the  Fort,  a  convention  for  the  ex¬ 
change  of  prisoners  was  entered  into  between  Capt.  Grant, 
the  commander  of  the  garrison,  and  Capt.  Smith,  and  the 
latter  with  his  men,  immediately  returned  to  their  homes.1 

1  The  following  song  was  soon  after  composed  by  Mr.  George  Camp¬ 
bell  (an  Irish  gentleman  who  had  been  educated  in  Dublin,)  and  was 
frequently  sung  in  the  neighborhood  to  the  tune  of  the  Black  Joke. 

Ye  patriot  souls  who  love  to  sing, 

What  serves  your  country  and  your  king, 

In  wealth,  peace,  and  royal  estate ;  J 
Attention  give  whilst  I  rehearse, 

A  modern  fact,  in  jingling  verse, 

How  party  interest  strove  what  it  cou’d, 

To  prolit  itself  by  public  blood, 

But  justly  met  its  merited  fate. 

Let  all  those  Indian  traders  claim, 

Their  just  reward,  in  glorious  fame, 

For  vile,  base  and  treacherous  ends, 

To  Pollins  in  the  spring  they  sent 
Much  warlike  stores,  with  an  intent, 

To  carry  them  to  our  barbarous  foes, 

Expecting  that  nobody  dare  oppose 
A  present  to  their  Indian  friends. 

Astonished  at  the  wild  design 
Frontier  inhabitants  combin’d, 


Ill 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

Occurrences  such  as  this,  were  afterwards  of  too  fre¬ 
quent  [84]  recurrence.  The  people  had  been  taught  by 
experience,  that  the  fort  afforded  very  little,  if  any  pro¬ 
tection  to  those  who  were  not  confined  within  its  walls — 
they  were  jealous  of  the  easy,  and  yet  secure  life  led  by 
the  garrison,  and  apprehensive  of  the  worst  consequences 

With  brave  souls  to  stop  their  career, 

Although  some  men  apostatized 
Who  first  the  grand  attempt  advis’d, 

The  bold  frontiers  they  bravely  stood, 

To  act  for  their  king,  and  their  country’s  good 
In  joint  league,  and  strangers  to  fear. 

On  March  the  fifth,  in  sixty-five, 

Their  Indian  presents  did  arrive, 

In  long  pomp  and  cavalcade, 

Near  Sidelong-hill,  where  in  disguise, 

Some  patriots  did  their  train  surprise, 

And  quick  as  lightning  tumbled  their  loads 
And  kindled  them  bonfires  in  the  woods; 

And  mostly  burnt  their  whole  brigade. 

At  Loudon  when  they  heard  the  news, 

They  scarcely  knew  which  way  to  choose, 

For  blind  rage  and  discontent; 

At  length  some  soldiers  they  sent  out, 

With  guides  for  to  conduct  the  route, 

And  seized  some  men  that  were  travelling  there 
And  hurried  them  into  Loudon,  where 
They  laid  them  fast  with  one  consent. 

But  men  of  resolution  thought 
Too  much  to  see  their  neighbors  caught 
For  no  crime  but  false  surmise ; 

Forthwith  they  join’d  a  warlike  band, 

And  march’d  to  Loudon  out  of  hand, 

And  kept  the  jailors  pris’ners  there, 

Until  our  friends  enlarged  were, 

Without  fraud  or  any  disguise. 

Let  mankind  censure  or  commend, 

This  rash  performance  in  the  end, 

Then  both  sides  wfill  find  their  account. 

’Tis  true  no  law  can  justify 
To  burn  our  neighbors  property, 

But  when  this  property  is  design’d 
To  serve  the  enemies  of  mankind, 

Its  high  treason  in  the  amount. 


112 


Withers  s  Chronicles 


from  the  intercourse  of  traders  with  the  Indians.  Under 
those  feelings,  they  did  not  scruple  to  intercept  the  pussage 
of  goods  to  the  trading  posts,  and  commit  similar  outrages, 
to  those  above  described,  if  there  were  any  interference 
on  the  part  of  the  neighboring  forts.  On  one  occasion, 
Capt.  Grant  was  himself  taken  prisoner,  and  [85]  detained 
’till  restitution  was  made  the  inhabitants  of  some  guns, 
which  had  been  taken  from  them,  by  soldiers  from  the 
garrison;  and  in  1769,  a  quantity  of  powder,  lead  and 
other  articles  was  taken  from  some  traders  passing  through 
Bedford  county,  and  destroyed.  Several  persons,  sup¬ 
posed  to  have  been  of  the  party  who  committed  this  out¬ 
rage,  were  apprehended,  and  laid  in  irons  in  the  guard 
house  at  Fort  Bedford. 

Capt.  Smith,  although  in  no  wise  engaged  in  this  trans¬ 
action,  nor  yet  approving  it,  was  nevertheless  so  indignant 
that  an  offence  against  the  civil  authorities,  should  be  at¬ 
tempted  to  be  punished  by  a  military  tribunal,  that  he  re¬ 
solved  on  effecting  their  release.  To  accomplish  this,  he 
collected  eighteen  of  his  ^  Black  boys,”  in  whom  he  knew 
he  could  confide ;  and  marched  along  the  main  road  in  the 
direction  of  Fort  Bedford.  On  his  way  to  that  place,  he 
did  not  attempt  to  conceal  his  object,  but  freely  told  to 
every  one  who  enquired,  that  he  was  going  to  take  Fort 
Bedford.  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day  of  their  march, 
they  arrived  at  the  crossings  of  Juniata,  (14  miles  from 
Bedford)  and  erected  tents  as  if  they  intended  encamping 
there  all  night. 

Previous  to  this,  Capt.  Smith  had  communicated  his 
intention  to  Mr.  William  Thompson  (who  lived  in  Bedford 
and  on  whom  he  could  rely,)  and  prevailed  on  him  to  ob¬ 
tain  what  information  he  could  as  to  the  effect  produced  in 
the  garrison  by  the  preparations  which  he  was  making  for 
its  attack;  and  acquaint  him  with  it.  That  he  might  be 
enabled  to  do  this  with  greater  certainty,  a  place  and  hour 
were  appointed  at  which  Capt.  Smith  would  meet  him. 

About  11  o’clock  at  night  the  march  was  resumed, 
and  moving  briskly  they  arrived  near  to  Bedford,  where 
they  met  Thompson  ;  who  communicated  to  them  the  fact, 
that  the  garrison  had  been  apprized  of  their  object  that  in 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


113 


consequence  of  having  heard  from  them  on  the  preceding 
evening,  at  the  Crossings  of  Juniata,  it  was  not  expected 
they  "would  arrive  before  mid-day,  that  their  number 
was  known,  and  the  enterprise  ridiculed.  Thompson  then 
returned  to  Bedford,  and  the  party  moved  silently  under 
covert  of  the  banks  of  the  river,  'till  they  approached  near 
to  the  Fort,  where  they  lay  concealed,  awaiting  the  open¬ 
ing  of  the  gate.  About  day  light  Thompson  apprised  them 
that  the  guard  had  thrown  open  the  gate,  and  were  taking 
their  morning’s  dram ;  that  the  arms  were  stacked  not  far 
from  the  entrace  into  the  Fort,  and  three  centinels  on  the 
wall. 

Upon  hearing  these  things,  Capt.  Smith  with  his  men 
rushed  rapidly  to  the  Fort,  and  the  morning  being  misty, 
were  not  discovered  ’till  they  had  reached  the  gate.  At 
that  instant  the  centinels  fired  their  guns  and  gave  the 
alarm ;  but  Capt.  Smith  and  his  men  took  possession  of  the 
arms,  and  raised  a  loud  shout,  before  the  soldiers  of  the 
garrison  could  learn  the  cause  of  the  alarm,  or  get  to  the 
scene  of  action. 

[86]  Having  thus  obtained  possession  of  the  Fort, 
Capt.  Smith  had  the  prisoners  released  from  the  guard¬ 
house,  and  compelling  a  blacksmith  to  knock  off  their 
irons,  left  the  Fort  with  them  and  returned  to  Conoco- 
cheaque.  “  This,  Capt.  Smith  says,  was  the  first  British 
fort  in  America,  taken  by  what  they  called  American 
rebels.” 

Some  time  after  this,  an  attempt  was  made  to  appre¬ 
hend  Capt.  Smith,  as  he  was  proceeding  to  survey  and  lo¬ 
cate  land  on  the  Youghogany  river.  In  the  encounter  which  * 
succeeded,  a  man  (by  the  name  of  Johnson)  was  killed; 
and  the  murder  being  charged  on  Smith,  he  was  confined 
for  a  time  in  Bedford  jail;  but  fearing  a  release,  the  civil 
authority  sent  him  privately  through  the  wilderness  to  Car¬ 
lisle,  to  await  a  trial  for  the  alledged  offence.  On  hearing 
this,  upwards  of  three  hundred  persons  (among  whom 
were  his  old  “  Black  boys,”)  proceeded  to  Carlisle  to  effect 
a  rescue ;  and  were  only  prevented  the  accomplishment  of 
their  object,  by  the  solicitation  of  Smith  himself.  He 
8 


114 


Withers's  Chron  iclcs 


knew  liis  innocence,  and  preferred  awaiting  a  trial ;  and 
how  willing  soever  he  might  have  been  to  oppose  any 
encroachments  of  the  military,  he  held  in  just  abhorrence, 
an  opposition  to  the  civil  authority  of  his  country.  lie 
was  put  on  his  trial  and  acquitted.1 

1  The  following  extract  from  the  Pennsylvania  Gazette  of  November 
2d,  1769,  details  the  circumstances  of  this  transaction. 

“James  Smith,  his  brother  and  brother  in  law,  were  going  out  to 
•  survey  and  improve  their  land,  on  the  waters  of  the  Youghogany. — Ex¬ 
pecting  to  be  gone  some  time,  they  took  with  them  their  arms,  and 
horses  loaded  with  necessaries ;  and  as  Smith’s  brother  in  law  was  an 
artist  in  surveying,  he  had  also  with  him  the  instruments  for  that  busi¬ 
ness.  Travelling  on  their  way  and  within  nine  miles  of  Bedford,  they 
overtook  and  joined  in  company  with  one  Johnson  and  Moorhead,  who 
had  likewise  horses  packed  with  liquor  and  seed  wheat — their  inten¬ 
tions  being  also  to  make  improvements  on  their  lands.  Arrived  at  the 
parting  of  the  road  near  Bedford,  they  separated,  one  party  going 
through  town  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  horse  shod  ;  these  were  ap¬ 
prehended  and  put  under  confinement. — James  Smith,  Johnson  and 
Moorhead  taking  the  other  road,  met  John  Holmes  of  Bedford,  to  whom 
Smith  spoke  in  a  friendly  manner  but  received  no  answer.  Smith  and 
his  companions  proceeded  to  where  the  two  roads  again  united ;  and 
waited  there  the  arrival  of  the  others. 

“At  this  time  a  number  of  men  came  riding  up,  and  asked  Smith  his 
name.  On  his  telling  them  who  he  was,  they  immediately  presented 
their  pistols,  and  commanded  him  to  surrenderor  he  was  a  dead  man. 
Smith  stepped  back  and  asking  if  theyw’ere  highwaymen,  charged  them 
to  keep  off ;  when  immediately  Robert  George  (one  of  the  assailants) 
snapped  a  pistol  at  Smith’s  head ;  and  that  (as  George  acknowledged 
under  oath)  before  Smith  had  offered  to  [87]  shoot.  Smith  then  presented 
his  gun  at  another  of  the  assailants,  who  was  holding  Johnson  with  one 
hand,  while  with  the  other  he  held  a  pistol,  which  he  was  preparing  to 
discharge.  Two  shots  were  fired,  one  by  Smith’s  gun,  the  other  by  the 
pistol,  so  quick  as  to  be  just  distinguishable,  and  Johnson  fell.  Smith 
was  then  taken  and  carried  to  Bedford,  where  John  Holmes  (who  had 
met  him  on  the  road,  and  hastened  to  Bedford  with  the  intelligence) 
held  an  inquest  over  the  dead  body  of  Johnson.  One  of  the  assailants 
being  the  only  witness  examined,  it  was  found  that  “Johnson  had 
been  murdered  by  Smith,”  wrho  wras  thereupon  committed  for  trial. 
But  jealousy  arising  in  the  breasts  of  many,  that  the  inquest  was  not  so 
fair  as  it  should  have  been,  William  Deny,  (the  coroner  of  Bedford 
county)  thought  proper  to  re-examine  the  matter ;  and  summoning  a 
jury  of  unexceptionable  men,  out  of  three  townships — men  whose  can¬ 
dour,  probity,  and  honesty  are  unquestionable,  and  having  raised  the 
corpse,  held  a  solemn  inquest  over  it  for  three  days. 

“  In  the  course  of  their  scrutiny,  they  found  the  shirt  of  Johnson, 
around  the  bullet  hole,  blackened  by  the  powder  of  the  charge  with. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


115 


[87]  Events  such  as  those  which  have  been  narrated, 
serve  to  shew  the  state  of  things  which  existed  at  that  day; 
and  to  point  out  the  evils  necessarily  resulting,  from  an 
absence  of  municipal  regulations.  Man,  in  every  station 
and  condition  of  life,  requires  the  controlling  hand  of  civil 
power,  to  confine  him  in  his  proper  sphere,  and  to  check 
every  advance  of  invasion,  on  the  rights  of  others.  Unre¬ 
strained  liberty  speedily  degenerates  into  licentiousness. 
Without  the  necessary  curbs  and  restraints  of  law,  men 
would  relapse  into  a  state  of  nature ;  [88]  and  although 
the  obligations  of  justice  (the  basis  of  society)  be  natural 
obligations ;  yet  such  are  the  depravity  and  corruption  of 
human  nature,  that  without  some  superintending  and  co¬ 
ercive  power,  they  would  be  wholly  disregarded;  and  hu- 

which  he  had  been  killed.  One  of  the  assailants  being  examined,  swore 
to  the  respective  spots  of  ground  on  which  they  stood  at  the  time  of 
tiring,  which  being  measured,  was  found  to  be  23  feet  distance  from  each 
other.  The  experiment  was  then  made  of  shooting  at  the  shirt  an 
equal  distance  both  with  and  against  the  wind,  to  ascertain  if  the  pow¬ 
der  produced  the  stain  ;  but  it  did  not.  Upon  the  whole  the  jury,  after 
the  most  accurate  examination  and  mature  deliberation,  brought  in 
their  verdict  that  one  of  the  assailants  must  necessarily  have  done  the 
murder.” 

Captain  Smith  was  a  brave  and  enterprising  man.  In  1766,  he,  in 
company  with  Joshua  Horton,  Uriah  Stone,  William  Baker  and  James 
Smith,  by  the  way  of  Holstein,  explored  the  country  south  of  Kentucky 
at  a  time  when  it  was  entirely  uninhabited ;  and  the  country  between 
the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  rivers,  to  their  entrance  into  the  Ohio. 
Stone’s  river,  a  branch  of  the  Cumberland  and  emptying  into  it  not  far 
above  Nashville,  was  named  by  them  in  this  expedition. 

After  his  acquittal  from  the  charge  of  having  murdered  Johnson, 
he  was  elected  and  served  as  one  of  the  board  of  commissioners,  for 
regulating  taxes  and  laying  the  county  levy,  in  the  county  of  Bedford. 
[88]  He  was  for  several  years  a  delegate  from  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  - 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania;  and  in  the  war  of  the  revo- . 
lution  was  an  officer  of  merit  and  distinction.  In  1781  he  removed  to 
Kentucky  and  settled  in  Bourbon  county  not  far  from  Paris ;  was  a 
member  of  the  convention  which  set  at  Danville,  to  confer  about  a 
separation  from  the  state  of  Virginia,  in  1788,  from  which  time  until 
1799,  with  the  exception  of  two  years,  he  was  either  a  delegate  of  the 
convention  or  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Kentucky. 

Comment  by  L.  C.  D. — It  would  seem  from  Col.  Smith’s  own  state¬ 
ment,  that  his  removal  to,  and  settlement  in,  Bourbon  county,  Ky.,  was 
in  1788. 


116 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


man  society,  would  become  the  field  of  oppression  and 
outrage — instead  of  a  theatre  for  the  interchange  of  good 
offices.  Civil  institutions  and  judicial  establishments;  the 
comminations  of  punishment  and  the  denunciations  of  law, 
are  barely  sufficient  to  repress  the  evil  propensities  of  man. 
Left  to  themselves,  they  spurn  all  natural  restrictions,  and 
riot  in  the  unrestrained  indulgence  of  every  passion. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


117 


[89]  CHAPTER  Y. 

The  comparative  security  and  quiet,  which  succeeded  * 
the  treaty  of  1765,  contributed  to  advance  the  prosperity 
of  the  Virginia  frontiers.  The  necessity  of  congregating 
in  forts  and  blockhouses,  no  longer  existing,  each  family 
onjoyed  the  felicities  of  its  own  fireside,  undisturbed  by 
fearful  apprehensions  of  danger  from  the  prowling  savage, 
and  free  from  the  hustle  and  confusion  consequent  on  being 
crowded  together.  No  longer  forced  to  cultivate  their  lit¬ 
tle  fields  in  common,  and  by  the  united  exertions  of  a  whole 
neighborhood,  with  tomahawks  suspended  from  their  belts 
and  rifles  attached  to  their  plow  beams,  their  original  spirit 
of  enterprise  was  revived :  and  while  a  certainty  of  reaping 
in  unmolested  safety,  the  harvest  for  which  they  had  toiled, 
gave  to  industry,  a  stimulus  which  increased  their  pros¬ 
perity,  it  also  excited  others  to  come  and  reside  among 
them — a  considerable  addition  to  their  population,  and  a 
rapid  extension  of  settlements,  were  the  necessary  conse¬ 
quence. 

It  was  during  the  continuation  of  this  exemption  from 
Indian  aggression,  that  several  establishments  were  made 
.  on  the  Monongahela  and  its  branches,  and  on  the  Ohio 
river.  These  were  nearly  cotemporaneous;  the  first  how¬ 
ever,  in  order  of  time,  was  that  made  on  the  Buchannon — 
a  fork  of  the  Tygart’s  valley  river,  and  was  induced  by  a 
flattering  account  of  the  country  as  given  by  two  brothers; 
who  had  spent  some  years  in  various  parts  of  it,  under 
rather  unpleasant  circumstances. 

Among  the  soldiers  who  garrisoned  Fort  Pitt,  were 
William  Childers,  John  and  Samuel  Pringle  and  Joseph 
Linsey.  In  1761,  these  four  men  deserted  from  the  fort, 
and  ascended  the  Monongahela  as  far  as  to  the  mouth  of 
George’s  creek  (the  site  afterwards  selected  by  Albert 
Gallatin,  for  the  town  of  Geneva.)  Here  they  remained 
awhile ;  but  not  liking  the  [90]  situation  crossed  over  to  the 


118 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


head  of  the  Youghogany ;  and  encamping  in  the  glades, 
continued  there  about  twelve  months. 

In  one  of  their  hunting  rambles,  Samuel  Pringle  came 
on  a  path,  which  he  supposed  would  lead  to  the  inhabited 
part  of  Virginia.  On  his  return  he  mentioned  the  discov¬ 
ery  and  his  supposition,  to  his  comrades,  and  they  re¬ 
solved  on  tracing  it.  This  they  accordingly  did,  and  it 
conducted  them  to  Loony’s  creek,  then  the  most  remote 
western  settlement.  While  among  the  inhabitants  on 
Loony’s  creek,  they  were  recognized  and  some  of  the 
party  apprehended  as  deserters.  John  and  Samuel  Pringle 
succeeded  in  making  an  escape  to  their  camp  in  the 
glades,  where  they  remained  ’till  some  time  in  the  year 
1764. 

During  this  year,  and  while  in  the  employ  of  John 
Simpson  (a  trapper,  who  had  come  there  in  quest  of  furs,) 
they  determined  on  removing  farther  west.  Simpson  was 
induced  to  this,  by  the  prospect  of  enjoying  the  woods 
free  from  the  intrusion  of  other  hunters  (the  glades  hav¬ 
ing  begun  to  be  a  common  hunting  ground  for  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  the  South  Branch ;)  while  a  regard  for  their  per¬ 
sonal  safety,  caused  the  Pringles  to  avoid  a  situation,  in 
which  they  might  be  exposed  to  the  observation  of  other 
men. 

In  journeying  through  the  wilderness,  and  after  hav¬ 
ing  crossed  Cheat  river  at  the  Horse  shoe,  a  quarrel  arose 
between  Simpson  and  one  of  the  Pringles ;  and  notwith¬ 
standing  that  peace  and  harmony  were  so  necessary  to 
their  mutual  safety  and  comfort ;  yet  each  so  far  indulged 
the  angry  passions  which  had  been  excited,  as  at  length 
to  produce  a  separation. 

Simpson  crossed  over  the  Valley  river,  near  the  mouth 
of  Pleasant  creek,  and  passing  on  to  the  head  of  another 
water  course,  gave  to  it  the  name  of  Simpson’s  creek. 
Thence  he  went  westwardly,  and  fell  over  on  a  stream 
which  he  called  Elk:  at  the  mouth  of  this  he  erected 
a  camp,  and  continued  to  reside  for  more  than  twelve 
months.  During  this  time  he  neither  saw  the  Pringles 
nor  any  other  human  being;  and  at  the  expiration  of  it 
went  to  the  South  Branch,  where  he  disposed  of  his  furs  and. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


119 


skins  and  then  returned  to,  and  continued  at,  his  encamp¬ 
ment  at  the  mouth  of  Elk,  until  permanent  settlements 
were  made  in  its  vicinity. 

The  Pringles  kept  up  the  Valley  river  ’till  they  ob¬ 
served  a  large  right  hand  fork,  (now  Buchannon),1  which 
they  ascended  [91]  some  miles ;  and  at  the  mouth  of  a 
small  branch  (afterward  called  Turkey  run)  they  took  up 
their  abode  in  the  cavity  of  a  large  Sycamore  tree.2  The 
stump  of  this  is  still  to  be  seen,  and  is  an  object  of  no 
little  veneration  with  the  immediate  descendants  of  the 
first  settlers. 

The  situation  of  these  men,  during  a  residence  here  of 
several  years,  although  rendered  somewhat  necessary  by 
their  previous  conduct,  could  not  have  been  very  enviable. 
Deserters  from  the  army,  a  constant  fear  of  discovery 
filled  their  minds  with  inquietude. — In  the  vicinity  of  a 
savage  foe,  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  were  ever 
present  to  their  imaginations. — Demote  from  civilized 
man,  their  solitude  was  hourly  interrupted  by  the  fright¬ 
ful  shrieks  of  the  panther,  or  the  hideous  howlings  of  the 
wolf. — And  though  the  herds  of  Buffalo,  Elk  and  Deer, 
which  gamboled  sportively  around,  enabled  them  easily  to 
supply  their  larder;  yet  the  want  of  salt,  of  bread,  and  of 
every  species  of  kitchen  vegetable,  must  have  abated  their 

1  Now  spelled  Buckhannon. — R.  G.  T. 

7  Sycamores,  which  attain  gigantic  proportions,  are  given  to  rotting 
in  the  lower  portions  of  the  trunk,  and  chambers  eight  feet  in  diameter 
are  not  uncommon.  In  the  course  of  a  canoe  voyage  down  the  Ohio,  in 
the  summer  of  1894,  I  frequently  saw  such  cavities,  with  the  openings 
stopped  by  pickets  or  rails,  utilized  by  small  bottom  farmers  as  hog¬ 
pens,  chicken-coops,  and  calf  stalls. 

L.  V.  McWhorter,  of  Berlin,  W.  Va.,  who  has  kindly  sent  me  sev¬ 
eral  MS.  notes  on  Withers's  Chronicles  (all  of  which  will  be  duly  cred¬ 
ited  where  used  in  this  edition),  writes:  “The  aged  sycamore  now 
(1894)  occupying  the  site,  is  the  third  generation — the  grand-child — of 
that  which  housed  the  Pringles.  It  stands  on  the  farm  of  Webster  Dix, 
who  assures  me  that  it  shall  not  be  destroyed.  A  tradition  held  by  his 
descendants  has  it,  that  when  John  Pringle  went  back  to  the  South 
Branch  for  ammunition,  Charity,  the  wife  of  Samuel,  who  was  left  be¬ 
hind,  started  immediately  for  the  wilderness  home  of  her  husband,  and 
found  him  by  the  path  which  John  had  blazed  for  his  own  return.” — R. 
G.  T. 


120 


Withers's  Chronicles 


relish  for  the,  otherwise,  delicious  loin  of  the  one,  and 
liauch  of  the  others.  The  low  state  of  their  little  maga¬ 
zine  too,  while  it  limited  their  hunting,  to  the  bare  pro¬ 
curation  of  articles  of  subsistence,  caused  them,  from  a 
fear  of  discovery,  to  shrink  at  the  idea  of  being  driven  to 
the  settlements,  for  a  supply  of  ammunition.  And  not 
until  they  were  actually  reduced  to  two  loads  of  powder, 
could  they  be  induced  to  venture  again  into  the  vicinity  of 
their  fellow  men.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1767, 
John  left  his  brother,  and  intending  to  make  for  a  trad¬ 
ing  post  on  the  Shenandoah,  appointed  the  period  of  his 
return. 

Samuel  Pringle,  in  the  absence  of  John,  suffered  a 
good  deal.  The  stock  of  provisions  left  him  became  en¬ 
tirely  exhausted — one  of  his  loads  of  powder,  was  ex¬ 
pended  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to  shoot  a  buck — his  brother 
had  already  delayed  his  return  several  days  longer  than 
was  intended,  and  he  was  apprehensive  that  he  had  been 
recognized,  taken  to  Fort  Pitt  and  would  probably  never 
get  back.  With  his  remaining  load  of  powder,  however 
he  was  fortunate  enough  to  kill  a  fine  buffalo  ;  and  John 
soon  after  returned  with  the  news  of  peace,  both  with  the 
Indians  and  French.  The  two  brothers  agreed  to  leave 
their  retirement. 

Their  wilderness  habitation  was  not  left  without  some 
regret.  Every  object  around,  had  become  more  or  less  en¬ 
deared  to  them.  The  tree,  in  whose  hollow  they  had  been 
so  [92]  frequently  sheltered  from  storm  and  tempest,  was 
regarded  by  them  with  so  great  reverence,  that  they  re¬ 
solved,  so  soon  as  they  could  prevail  on  a  few  others  to 
accompany  them,  again  to  return  to  this  asylum  of  their 
exile. 

In  a  population  such  as  then  composed  the  chief  part 
of  the  South  Branch  settlement,  this  was  no  difficult  mat¬ 
ter.  All  of  them  were  used  to  the  frontier  manner  of  liv¬ 
ing;  the  most  of  them  had  gone  thitherto  acquire  land; 
many  had  failed  entirely  in  this  object,  while  others  were 
obliged  to  occupy  poor  and  broken  situations  off’ the  river; 
the  fertile  bottoms  having  been  previously  located.  Add 
to  this  the  passion  for  hunting  (which  was  a  ruling  one 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


121 


with  many,)  and  the  comparative  scarcity  of  game  in  their 
neighborhood,  and  it  need  not  excite  surprise  that  the 
proposition  of  the  Pringles  to  form  a  settlement,  in  such  a 
country  as  they  represented  that  on  Buchannon  to  be,  was 
eagerly  embraced  by  many. 

In  the  fall  of  the  ensuing  year  (1768)  Samuel  Pringle, 
and  several  others  who  wished  first  to  examine  for  them¬ 
selves,  visited  the  country  which  had  been  so  long  occu¬ 
pied  by  the  Pringles  alone.  Being  pleased  with  it,  they, 
in  the  following  spring,  with  a  few  others,  repaired  thither, 
with  the  view  of  cultivating  as  much  corn,  as  would  serve 
their  families  the  first  year  after  their  emigration.  And 
having  examined  the  country,  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
the  most  desirable  situations;  some  of  them  proceeded  to 
improve  the  spots  of  their  choice.  John  Jackson  (who 
was  accompanied  by  his  sons,  George  and  Edward)  set¬ 
tled  at  the  mouth  of  Turkey  run,  where  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Davis,  now  lives — John  Hacker1  higher  up  on  the 
Buchannon  river,  where  Bush’s  fort  was  afterwards  estab¬ 
lished,  and  Nicholas  Heavener  now  lives — Alexander  and 
Thomas  Sleeth,  near  to  Jackson’s,  on  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Forenash  plantation.  The  others  of  the  party 
(William  Hacker,  Thomas  and  Jesse  Hughes,  John  and 
William  Radcliff  and  Jphn  Brown)  appear  to  have  em¬ 
ployed  their  time  exclusively  in  hunting;  neither  of  them 
making  any  improvement  of  land  for  his  own  benefit. 
Yet  were  they  of  very  considerable  service  to  the  new  set¬ 
tlement.  Those  who  had  commenced  clearing  land,  were 
supplied  by  them  with  abundance  of  meat,  while  in  their 
hunting  excursions  through  the  country,  a  better  knowl¬ 
edge  of  it  was  obtained,  than  could  have  been  acquired, 
had  they  been  engaged  in  making  improvements. 

[93]  In  one  of  these  expeditions  they  discovered,  and 
gave  name  to  Stone  coal  creek ;  which  flowing  westwardly, 
induced  the  supposition  that  it  discharged  itself  directly 
into  the  Ohio.  Descending  this  creek,  to  ascertain  the 

1  This  early  and  meritorious  pioneer  was  born  near  Winchester, 
Va.,  Jan.  1,  1743,  figured  prominently  in  the  Indian  wars  of  his  region, 
and  served  on  Col.  G.  R.  Clark’s  Illinois  campaign  of  1778;  he  died  at 
his  home  on  Hacker’s  Creek,  April  20,  1821,  in  his  82d  year. — L.  C.  D. 


122 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


fact,  they  came  to  its  confluence  with  a  river,  which  they 
then  called,  and  has  since  been  known  as,  the  West  Fork. 
After  having  gone  some  distance  down  the  river,  they  re¬ 
turned  by  a  different  route  to  the  settlement,  better  pleased 
with  the  land  on  it  and  some  of  its  tributaries,  than  with 
that  on  Buchannon. 

Soon  after  this,  other  emigrants  arrived  under  the 
guidance  of  Samuel  Pringle.  Among  them  were,  John 
and  Benjamin  Outright,  who  settled  on  Buchannon,  where 
John  Outright  the  younger,  now  lives;  and  Henry  Rule 
who  improved  just  above  the  mouth  of  Fink’s  run.  Be¬ 
fore  the  arrival  of  Samuel  Pringle,  John  Hacker  had  be¬ 
gun  to  improve  the  spot  which  Pringle  had  chosen  for 
himself.  To  prevent  any  unpleasant  result,  Hacker  agreed 
that  if  Pringle  would  clear  as  much  land,  on  a  creek  which 
had  been  recently  discovered  by  the  hunters,  as  he  had  on 
Buchannon,  they  could  then  exchange  places.  Complying 
with  this  condition  Pringle  took  possession  of  the  farm  on 
Buchannon,  and  Hacker  of  the  land  improved  by  Pringle 
on  the  creek,  which  was  hence  called  Hacker’s  creek.1 
John  and  William  Radcliff,  then  likewise  settled  on  this 
stream — the  former  on  the  farm,  where  the  Rev.  John 
Mitchel  now  lives ;  the  latter  at  the  place  now  owned  by 
William  Powers  Esq. — These  comprise  all  the  improve¬ 
ments  which  were  made  on  the  upper  branches  of  the 
Monongahela  in  the  years  1769  and  1770. 

At  the  close  of  the  working  season  of  1769  some  of 
these  adventurers,  went  to  their  families  on  the  South 
Branch  ;  and  when  they  returned  to  gather  their  crops  in 
the  fall,  found  them  entirely  destroyed.  In  their  absence 
the  buffaloes,  no  longer  awed  by  the  presence  of  man,  had 
trespassed  on  their  enclosures,  and  eaten  their  corn  to  the 
ground — this  delayed  the  removal  of  their  families  ’till  the 
winter  of  1770. 

Soon  after  the  happening  of  this  event,  other  settle¬ 
ments  were  made  on  the  upper  branches  of  the  Monon¬ 
gahela  river.  Capt.  James  Booth  and  John  Thomas  es¬ 
tablished  themselves  on  what  has  been  since  called  Booth’s 


1  Its  Indian  name  signified  “  Muddy  Water.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


123 


creek — The  former  at  the  place  now  owned  by  Jesse  Mar¬ 
tin;  and  the  latter  where  William  Martin  at  present  re¬ 
sides,  and  which  is  perhaps  the  [94]  most  valuable  landed 
estate  in  North  Western  Virginia,  off  the  Ohio  river. 

Previous  however  to  the  actual  settlement  of  the 
country  above  the  forks  of  the  Monongahela,  some  few 
families  (in  1767)  had  established  themselves  in  the  vicinity 
of  Fort  Redstone,  now  Brownsville,  in  Pennsylvania.1  At 
the  head  of  these  were  Abraham  Tegard,  James  Craw¬ 
ford,  John  Province,  and  John  Harden.  The  latter  of 
these  gentlemen  afterwards  removed  to  Kentucky  and  be¬ 
came  distinguished  in  the  early  history  of  that  state,  as 
well  for  the  many  excellencies  of  his  private  and  public 
life,  as  for  the  untimely  and  perfidious  manner  of  his 
death. 

In  the  succeeding  year  Jacob  Vanmeter,  John  Swan, 
Thomas  Hughes  and  some  others  settled  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Monongahela,  near  the  mouth  of  Muddy  creek* 
where  Carmichaelstown  now  stands.2 

In  this  year  too,  the  place  which  had  been  occupied 
for  a  while  by  Thomas  Decker  and  his  unfortunate  asso¬ 
ciates,  and  where  Morgantown  is  now  situated,  was  settled 
by  a  party  of  emigrants  ;  one  of  which  was  David  Morgan, 
who  became  so  conspicuous  for  personal  prowess,  and  for 
the  daring,  yet  deliberate  courage  displayed  by  him,  dur¬ 
ing  the  subsequent  hostilities  with  the  Indians. 

1  We  have  already  seen  (p.  74,  note),  that  Gist  settled  at  Mount 
Braddock,  Fayette  county,  in  1753,  and  that  eleven  families  joined  him 
in  January,  1754.  There  is  a  tradition  that  settlers  were  in  the  district 
even  before  Gist.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  Gist  settlements,  and 
others  in  the  lower  Monongahela,  were  burned  by  the  French  in  July, 
1754.  The  English  borderers  fled  upon  the  outbreak  of  disturbances,, 
and  did  not  return  until  about  1760-61,  when  confidence  had  been  re¬ 
stored. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Both  Van  Meter  and  Swan  afterwards  served  under  Col.  G.  R. 
Clark — at  least,  on  the  Kaskaskia  campaign ;  Swan  commanded  a  com¬ 
pany  on  Clark’s  Shawnee  campaign  of  1780,  and  Van  Meter  on  that 
of  1782.  The  latter  moved  to  Kentucky  in  1780;  settled  in  Hardin 
county,  Ky.,  Nov.  16th,  1798,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year. — L.  C.  D. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — This  note,  written  by  Dr.  Draper  a  few  days- 
before  his  death  (Aug.  26,  1891),  was  probably  his  last  stroke  of  literary 

work. 


124 


Withers’’ s  Chronicles 


In  1769,  Col.  Ebenezer  Zane,  his  brothers  Silas  and 
Jonathan,  with  some  others  from  the  south  Branch,  visited 
the  Ohio  river  for  the  purpose  of  commencing  improve¬ 
ments  ; 1  [95]  and  severally  proceeded  to  select  positions 
for  their  future  residence.  Col.  Zane  chose  for  his,  an 
«  eminence  above  the  mouth  of  Wheeling  creek,  near . 
to  the  Ohio,  and  opposite  a  beautiful  and  considerable 
island  in  that  river.  The  spot  thus  selected  by  him,  is 
now  occupied  by  his  son  Hoali  Zane,  Esq.  and  is  nearly 
the  centre  of  the  present  flourishing  town  of  Wheeling. 
Silas  Zane  commenced  improving  on  Wheeling  creek 
where  Col.  Moses  Shephard  now  lives,  and  Jonathan  re¬ 
sided  with  his  brother  Ebenezer.  Several  of  those  who 

1  These  gentlemen  were  descendants  of  a  Mr.  Zane  who  accompanied 
William  Penn,  to  his  province  of  Pennsylvania,  and  from  whom,  one  of 
the  principal  streets  in  Philadelphia,  derived  its  name.  Their  father 
was  possessed  of  a  bold  and  daring  spirit  of  adventure,  which  was  dis¬ 
played  on  many  occasions,  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  life.  Having  ren¬ 
dered  himself  obnoxious  to  the  Society  of  Friends  (of  which  he  was  a 
member,)  by  marrying  without  the  pale  of  that  society,  he  moved  to 
Virginia  and  settled  on  the  South  Branch,  where  the  town  of  Moorfield 
has  been  since  erected.  One  of  his  sons  (Isaac)  was  taken  by  the  In¬ 
dians,  when  he  was  only  nine  years  old,  and  carried  in  captivity,  to 
Mad  river,  in  Ohio.  Here  he  continued  ’till  habit  reconciled  him  to  his 
situation,  when  he  married  a  squaw,  became  a  chief  and  spent  the  re¬ 
mainder  of  his  life  with  them.  He  was  never  known  to  wage  wrar 
against  the  whites;  but  was,  on  several  occasions,  of  infinite  service, 
by  apprising  them  of  meditated  attacks  of  the  Indians.  His  descend¬ 
ants  still  reside  in  Ohio. 

The  brothers,  Ebenezer,  Silas  and  Jonathan,  who  settled  Wheeling, 
[95]  were  also  men  of  enterprise,  tempered  with  prudence,  and  directed 
by  sound  judgment.  Ready  at  all  times,  to  resist  and  punish  the  aggres¬ 
sion  of  the  Indians,  they  were  scrupulously  careful  not  to  provoke  them 
by  acts  of  wanton  outrage,  such  as  were  then,  too  frequently  committed 
along  the  frontier.  Col.  Ebenezer  Zane  had  been  among  the  first,  to 
explore  the  country  from  the  South  Branch,  through  the  Alleghany 
glades,  and  west  of  them.  He  was  accompanied  in  that  excursion  by 
Isaac  Williams,  two  gentlemen  of  the  name  of  Robinson  and  some 
others;  but  setting  off  rather  late  in  the  season,  and  the  weather  being 
very  severe,  they  were  compelled  to  return,  without  having  penetrated 
to  the  Ohio  river.  On  their  way  home,  such  was  the  extremity  of  cold, 
that  one  of  the  Robinsons  died  of  its  effects.  Williams  was  much  frost 
bitten,  and  the  whole  patrty  suffered  exceedingly.  To  the  bravery  and 
good  conduct  of  those  three  brothers,  the  Wheeling  settlement  was 
mainly  indebted  for  its  security  and  preservation,  during  the  war  of  the 
revolution. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


125 


accompanied  the  adventurers,  likewise  remained  with 
Colonel  Zane,  in  the  capacity  of  laborers. 

After  having  made  those  preparations  which  were  im¬ 
mediately  requisite  for  the  reception  of  their  respective 
families,  they  returned  to  their  former  homes.  In  the  en¬ 
suing  year  they  finally  left  the  South  Branch,  and  accom¬ 
panied  by  Col.  David  Shephard,  (the  father  of  Col.  Moses 
Shepherd,)  John  Wetzel  (the  father  of  Lewis)  and  the 
McCulloughs — men  whose  names  are  identified  with  the 
early  history  of  that  country — repaired  again  to  the 
wilderness,  and  took  up  their  permanent  abode  in  it. 

Soon  after  this,  other  settlements  were  made  at  differ¬ 
ent  points,  both  above  and  below  Wheeling;  and  the 
country  on  Buffalo,  Short,  and  Grave  creeks,1  and  on  the 
Ohio  river,  became  the  abode  of  civilized  man.  Among 
those  who  were  first  to  occupy  above  Wheeling,  were 
George  Lefler,  John  Doddridge,  Benjamin  Biggs,  Daniel 
Greathouse,  Joshua  Baker  and  Andrew  Swearingen.2 

[96]  The  settlement  thus  made  constituting  a  kind  of 
advance  guard ,  through  which  an  Indian  enemy  would 
have  to  penetrate,  before  they  could  reach  the  interior, 
others  were  less  reluctant  to  occupy  the  country  between 
them  and  the  Alleghany  mountains.  Accordingly  various 
establishments  were  soon  made  in  it  by  adventurers  from 
different  parts  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia; 
and  those  places  in  which  settlements  had  been  previously 
effected,  received  considerable  accessions  to  their  popula¬ 
tion. 

In  1772,  that  comparatively  beautiful  region  of  coun¬ 
try,  lying  on  the  east  fork  of  the  Monongahela  river,  be- 

1  Joseph  Tomlinson  surveyed  a  claim  at  the  mouth  of  Grave  Creek, 
about  1770,  but  did  not  settle  there  until  1772.  His  cabin  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  present  Moundsville,  W.  Ya. — R.  G.  T. 

2  John  Doddridge  settled  in  Washington  county,  Pa.,  on  the  Ohio 
River  a  few  miles  east  of  the  Pennsylvania-Virginia  state  line,  in  1773  ; 
his  son,  Joseph  Doddridge,  was  the  author  of  Notes  on  the  Settlements  and 
Indian  Wars  of  the  Western  Parts  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania ,  1763-83, 
a  valuable  antiquarian  work.  The  names  of  Greathouse  and  Baker 
became  execrable  through  their  connection  with  the  massacre  of  Chief 
Logan’s  family,  in  1774.  Leffler  and  Biggs  attained  prominence  in  bor¬ 
der  warfare. — R.  G.  T. 


126 


Withers's  Chronicles 


tween  the  Alleghany  mountains,  on  its  south  eastern,  and 
the  Laurel  Hill,  or  as  it  is  there  called  the  Rich  mountain, 
on  its  north  western  side,  and  which  had  received  the  de¬ 
nomination  of  Tygart’s  valley,  again  attracted  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  emigrants. — In  the  course  of  that  year,  the  greater 
part  of  this  valley  was  located,  by  persons  said  to  have 
been  enticed  thither  by  the  description  given  of  it,  by 
some  hunters  from  Greenbrier  who  had  previously  ex¬ 
plored  it.  Game,  though  a  principal,  was  not  however 
their  sole  object.  They  possessed  themselves  at  once  of 
nearly  all  the  level  land  lying  between  those  mountains — 
a  plain  of  25  or  30  miles  in  length  and  varying  from  three 
fourths  to  two  miles  in  width,  and  of  fine  soil.  Among 
those  who  were  first  to  occupy  that  section  of  country,  we 
find  the  names  of  Hadden,  Connelly,  Whiteman,  Warwick, 
Helson,  Stalnaker,  Riffle  and  Westfall:  the  latter  of  these 
found  and  interred  the  bones  of  Files’  family,  which  had 
lain,  bleeching  in  the  sun,  after  their  murder  by  the  In¬ 
dians,  in  1754. 

Cheat  river  too,  on  which  no  attempt  at  settlement 
had  been  made,  but  by  the  unfortunate  Eckarly's,  became 
an  object  of  attention,  The  Horse  Shoe  bottom  was  lo¬ 
cated  by  Capt.  James  Parsons,  of  the  South  Branch ;  and 
in  his  neighborhood  settled  Robert  Cunningham,  Henry 
Fink,  John  Goff  and  John  Minear.  Robert  Butler,  Will¬ 
iam  Morgan  and  some  others  settled  on  the  Dunkard 
bottom. 

In  this  year  too,  settlements  were  made  on  Simpson’s 
creek,  the  West  Fork  river  and  on  Elk  creek.  Those  who 
made  the  former,  were  John  Powers,  who  purchased  Simp¬ 
son’s  right  (a  tomahawk  improvement) 1  to  the  land  on 
which  Benjamin  [97]  Stout  now  resides;  and  James  Ander¬ 
son  and  Jonas  Webb  who  located  themselves  farther  up 
the  creek. 


1  “At  an  early  period  of  onr  settlements,  there  was  an  inferior  kind  of 
land  title,  denominated  a  tomahawk  right.  This  was  made  by  [97]  dead¬ 
ening  a  few  trees  near  a  spring,  and  marking  on  one  or  more  of  them, 
the  initials  of  the  name  of  the  person,  by  whom  the  improvement  was 
made.  Rights,  acquired  in  this  way,  were  frequently  bought  and  sold.” 
— Doddridge's  Notes  on  Western  Virginia. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


127 


On  Elk,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Clarksburg  there  set- 
tied  Thomas  Nutter,  near  to  the  Forge-mills — Samuel  Cot- 
trial,  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek  and  nearly  opposite  to 
Clarksburg — Sotha  Hickman,  on  the  west  side  of  the  same 
creek,  and  above  Cottrial — Samuel  Beard  at  the  mouth  of 
Nanny’s  run — Andrew  Cottrial  above  Beard,  and  at  the 
farm  now  owned  by  John  W.  Patton — Daniel  Davisson, 
where  Clarksburg  is  now  situated,  and  Obadiah  Davisson 
and  John  Nutter  on  the  West  Fork;  the  former  near  to 
the  old  Salt  works,  and  the  latter  at  the  place  now  owned 
by  Adam  Hickman,  jr. 

There  was  likewise,  at  this  time,  a  considerable  acces¬ 
sion  to  the  settlements  on  Buchannon  and  Hacker’s  creek. 
So  great  was  the  increase  of  population  in  this  latter 
neighborhood,  that  the  crops  of  the  preceding  season  did 
not  atford  more  than  one  third  of  the  breadstuff,  which 
would  be  ordinarily  consumed  in  the  same  time,  by  an 
equal  number  of  persons.  Such  indeed  was  the  state  of  suf¬ 
fering  among  the  inhabitants,  consequent  on  this  scarcity, 
that  the  year  1773  is  called  in  the  traditionary  legends  of 
that  day,  the  starving  year ;  and  such  were  the  exertions 
of  William  Lowther  to  mitigate  that  suffering,  and  so 
great  the  success  with  which  they  were  crowned,  that  his 
name  has  been  transmitted  to  their  descendants,  hallowed 
by  the  blessings  of  those,  whose  wants  he  contributed  so 
largely  to  relieve.1 


1  William  Lowther  was  the  son  of  Robert,  and  came  with  his  father 
to  the  Hacker  creek  settlement  in  1772.  He  soon  became  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  men  in  that  section  of  country ;  while  his  private 
virtues  and  public  actions  endeared  him  to  every  individual  of  the  com¬ 
munity.  During  the  war  of  1774  and  subsequently,  he  was  the  most 
active  and  efficient  defender  of  that  vicinity,  against  the  insidious  at¬ 
tacks  of  the  savage  foe ;  and  there  were  very  few  if  any  scouting  parties 
proceeding  from  thence,  by  wrhich  the  Indians  were  killed  or  otherwise 
much  annoyed,  but  those  which  were  commanded  by  him. 

He  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  district  of  West  Augusta — 
the  first  sheriff  in  the  county  of  Harrison  and  Wood,  and  [98]  once  a  dele¬ 
gate  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  States.  His  military  merits  carried 
him  through  the  subordinate  grades  to  the  rank  of  Colonel.  Despising 
the  pomp  and  pageantry  of  office,  he  accepted  it  for  the  good  of  the 
community,  and  was  truly  an  effective  man.  Esteemed,  beloved  by  all, 
he  might  have  exerted  his  influence,  over  others,  to  the  advancement 


128 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[98]  These  were  the  principal  settlements  begun  in  iTorfh 
Western  Virginia,  prior  to  the  year  1774.  Few  and  scat¬ 
tered  as  they  were,  no  sooner  was  it  known  that  they  were 
commenced,  than  hundreds  flocked  to  them  from  different 
parts ;  and  sought  there  the  gratifications  of  their  respec¬ 
tive  predilections.  That  spirit  of  adventurous  emigration, 
which  has  since  peopled,  with  such  unprecedented  rapid¬ 
ity,  the  south  western  and  western  states,  and  which  was 
then  beginning  to  develope  itself,  overcame  the  fond  at¬ 
tachments  of  youth,  and  impelled  its  possessors,  to  the 
dreary  wilderness.  Former  homes,  encircled  by  the  com¬ 
forts  of  civilization,  endeared  by  the  grateful  recollections 
of  by-gone  days,  and  not  unfrequently,  consecrated  as  the 
spots  where  their  tenants  had  first  inhaled  the  vital  fluid, 
wrere  readily  exchanged  for  “  the  variety  of  untried  being, 
the  new  scenes  and  changes,”  which  were  to  be  passed^ 
before  the  trees  of  the  forest  could  be  supplanted,  by  the 
fruits  of  the  field,  or  society  be  reared  in  the  solitude  of 
the  desert.  With  a  capability  to  sustain  fatigue,  not  to  be 
subdued  by  toil ;  and  with  a  cheerfulness,  not  easily  to  be 
depressed;  a  patience  which  could  mock  at  suffering  and 
a  daring  which  nothing  could  daunt,  every  difficulty  which 
intervened,  every  obstacle  which  was  interposed  between 
them  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  objects  of  their  pur¬ 
suit,  was  surmounted  or  removed  ;  and  in  a  comparatively 
brief  space  of  time,  they  rose  to  the  enjoyment  of  many 
of  those  gratifications,  which  are  experienced  in  earlier 
and  more  populous  settlements.  That  their  morals  should, 
for  a  while,  have  suffered  deterioration,  and  their  manners 
and  habits,  instead  of  [99]  approximating  those  of  refined 
society,  should  have  become  perhaps,  more  barbarous  and 
uncouth,  was  the  inevitable  consequence  of  their  situation, 

of  his  individual  interest;  blit  he  sought  the  advancement  of  the  gen¬ 
eral  weal,  not  a  personal  or  family  aggrandizement.  His  example  might 
teach  others,  that  offices  were  created  for  the  public  good,  not  for  pri¬ 
vate  emolument.  If  aspirants  for  office  at  the  present  day,  were  to  re¬ 
gard  its  perquisites  less,  and  their  fitness  for  the  discharge  of  its  duties 
more,  the  country  would  enjoy  a  greater  portion  of  happiness  and  pros¬ 
perity,  and  a  sure  foundation  for  the  permanence  of  these  be  laid,  in 
the  more  disinterested  character  of  her  counsellors,  and  their  conse¬ 
quently,  increased  devotion  to  her  interests: 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


129 


and  the  certain  result  of  circumstances,  which  they  could 
not  control.  When  that  situation  was  changed,  and  these 
circumstances  ceased  to  exist,  a  rapid  progress  was  made 
in  the  advancement  of  many  sections  of  the  country,  to 
the  refinements  of  civilized  society. 

The  infantile  state  of  all  countries  exhibits,  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  a  prevalence  of  barbarism.  The 
planting  of  colonies,  or  the  formation  of  establishments  in 
new  countries,  is  ever  attended  with  circumstances  unpro- 
pitious  to  refinement.  The  force  with  which  these  circum¬ 
stances  act,  will  be  increased  or  diminished  in  proportion 
to  the  remoteness  or  proximity  of  those  new  establish¬ 
ments,  to  older  societies,  in  which  the  arts  and  sciences 
are  cultivated ;  and  to  the  facility  of  communication  be¬ 
tween  them.  Man  is,  at  all  times,  the  creature  of  circum¬ 
stances.  Cut  off  from  an  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men, 
and  divested  of  the  conveniences  of  life,  he  will  readily 
relapse  into  a  state  of  nature. — Placed  in  contiguity  wfith 
the  barbarous  and  the  vicious;  his  manners  will  become 
rude,  his  morals  perverted. — Brought  into  collision  with 
the  sanguinary  and  revengeful ;  and  his  own  conduct  will 
eventually  be  distinguished,  by  bloody  and  vindictive 
deeds. 

Such  was  really  the  situation  of  those  who  made  the 

«/ 

first  establishments  in  North  Western  Virginia.  And 
when  it  is  considered,  that  they  were,  mostly,  men  from 
the  humble  walks  of  life ;  comparatively  illiterate  and  un¬ 
refined  ;  without  civil  or  religious  institutions,  and  with 
a  love  of  liberty,  bordering  on  its  extreme ;  their  more 
enlightened  descendants  can  not  but  feel  surprise,  that 
their  dereliction  from  propriety  had  not  been  greater ; 
their  virtue  less. 

The  objects,  for  the  attainment  of  which  they  volun¬ 
tarily  placed  themselves  in  this  situation,  and  tempted  the 
dangers  inseparable  from  a  residence  in  the  contiguity  of 
Indians,  jealous  of  territorial  encroachment,  were  almost 
as  various  as  their  individual  character.  Generally  speak¬ 
ing,  they  were  men  in  indigent  circumstances,  unable  to 
purchase  land  in  the  neigborhoods  from  which  they  came, 
9 


130 


Withers's  Chronicles 


and  unwilling  longer  to  remain  the  tenants  of  others. 
These  were  induced  to  [100]  emigrate,  with  the  laudable 
ambition  of  acquiring  homes,  from  which  they  would  not 
be  liable  to  expulsion,  at  the  whim  and  caprice  of  some 
haughty  lordling.  Upon  the  attainment  of  this  object, 
they  were  generally  content ;  and  made  but  feeble  exertions 
to  acquire  more  land,  than  that  to  which  they  obtained 
title,  by  virtue  of  their  settlements.  Some  few,  however, 
availed  themselves  of  the  right  of  pre-emption,  and  be¬ 
coming  possessed  of  the  more  desirable  portions  of  the 
country,  added  considerably  to  their  individual  wealth. 

Those  who  settled  on  the  Ohio,  were  of  a  more  enter¬ 
prising  and  ambitious  spirit,  and  looked  more  to  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  their  condition  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view. 
The  fertile  bottoms  of  that  river,  and  the  facility  with  which, 
by  means  of  it,  their  surplus  produce  might  be  transported  to 
a  ready  market,1  were  considerations  which  influenced  many. 
Others,  again,  looking  forward  to  the  time  when  the  Indians 
would  be  divested  of  the  country  north  west  of  the  Ohio  river, 
and  it  be  open  to  location  in  the  same  manner  its  south  east¬ 
ern  shores  were,  selected  this  as  a  situation,  from  which 
they  might  more  readily  obtain  possession  of  the  fertile 

1  The  Spaniards  at  New  Orleans,  from  the  first  settlement  of  the 
country  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  sought  to  attach  it  to  the 
province  of  Louisiana.  Knowing  the  powerful  efficacy  of  gold,  in  pro¬ 
ducing  such  results,  they  dispensed  it  with  a  liberal  hand,  to  such  as 
made  New  Orleans  their  market.  The  attachment  of  the  first  settlers, 
to  the  free  institutions  of  our  country,  baffled  every  attempt  to  detach 
them  from  it. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — The  Spanish  conspiracy  was,  in  the  main, 
“  baffled  ”  by  the  prompt  action  of  our  general  government.  George 
Rogers  Clark  and  several  other  leading  Kentuckians  were  quite  willing  to 
be  “  detached,”  for  a  consideration.  The  fact  is,  that  at  first  the  sense 
of  national  patriotism  was  weak,  west  of  the  Alleghanies;  the  eighteenth 
century  had  closed  before  efforts  at  separation  from  the  East  were  com¬ 
monly  regarded  as  treason.  The  interests  of  the  Western  people  ap¬ 
parently  were  centered  in  the  south-flowing  Mississippi ;  they  seemed  to 
have  at  the  time  little  in  common  with  the  East.  So  long  as  Spain  held 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  many  Western  leaders  thought  it  not  improper 
that  the  West  should  ally  itself  with  that  power  ;  when  our  government 
finally  purchased  the  Spanish  claim,  the  Western  men  had  no  further 
complaint.  See  Roosevelt’s  treatment  of  the  Spanish  conspiracy,  in  his 
Winning  of  the  West ,  III.,  ch.  iii. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


131 


land,  with  which  its  ample  plains  were  known  to  abound. 
In  anticipation  of  this  period,  there  were  some  who  em¬ 
braced  every  opportunity,  afforded  by  intervals  of  peace 
with  the  Indians,  to  explore  that  country  and  select  in  it 
what  they  deemed,  its  most  valuable  parts.  Around  these 
they  would  generally  mark  trees,  or  otherwise  define 
boundaries,  by  which  they  could  be  afterwards  identified. 
The  cession  by  Virginia  to  the  United  States,  of  the  North 
Western  Territory,  and  the  manner  in  which  its  lands  were 
subsequently  brought  into  market,  prevented  the  realiza¬ 
tion  of  those  flattering,  and  apparently,  well  founded  ex¬ 
pectations. 

There  were  also,  in  every  settlement,  individuals,  who 
had  been  drawn  to  them  solely  by  their  love  of  hunting, 
and  an  attachment  to  the  wild,  unshackled  scenes  of  a 
wilderness  life.  These  were  perhaps,  totally  regardless  of 
all  the  inconveniencies,  [101]  resulting  from  their  new  sit¬ 
uation  ;  except  that  of  being  occasionally  pent  up  in  forts ; 
and  thus  debarred  the  enjoyment  of  their  favorite  pastimes. 

Although  hunting  was  not  the  object  of  most  of  the 
old  settlers,  yet  it  was  for  a  good  part  of  the  year,  the 
chief  employment  of  their  time.  And  of  all  those,  who 
thus  made  their  abode  in  the  dense  forest,  and  tempted  ag¬ 
gression  from  the  neighboring  Indians,  none  were  so  well 
qualified  to  resist  this  aggression,  and  to  retaliate  upon 
its  authors,  as  those  who  were  mostly  engaged  in  this 
pursuit.  Of  all  their  avocations,  this  “  mimickry  of  war” 
best  fitted  them  to  thwart  the  savages  in  their  purpose, 
and  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  their  peculiar  mode  of  war¬ 
fare.  Those  arts  which  enabled  them,  unperceived  to  ap¬ 
proach  the  watchful  deer  in  his  lair,  enabled  them  like¬ 
wise  to  circumvent  the  Indian  in  his  ambush  ;  and  if  not 
always  punish,  yet  frequently  defeat  him  in  his  object. 
Add  to  this  the  perfect  knowledge  which  /they  acquired 
of  the  woods,  and  the  ease  and  certainty  with  which 
they  consequently,  when  occasion  required,  could  make 
their  way  to  any  point  of  the  settlements  and  apprize  the 
inhabitants  of  approaching  danger;  and  it  will  be  readily 
admitted  that  the  more  expert  and  successful  the  hunts¬ 
man,  the  more  skillful  and  effective  the  warrior. 


132 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


But  various  soever,  as  may  have  been  their  objects  in 
emigrating,  no  sooner  had  they  come  together,  than  there 
existed  in  each  settlement,  a  perfect  unison  of  feeling. 
Similitude  of  situation  and  community  of  danger,  operat¬ 
ing  as  a  magic  charm,  stifled  in  their  birth  those  little 
bickerings,  which  are  so  apt  to  disturb  the  quiet  of  so¬ 
ciety.  Ambition  of  preferment  and  the  pride  of  place, 
too  often  lets  and  hindrances  to  social  intercourse,  were 
unknown  among  them.  Equality  of  condition  rendered 
them  strangers  alike,  to  the  baneful  distinctions  created  by 
wealth  and  other  adventitious  circumstances  ;  and  to  envy, 
which  gives  additional  virus  to  their  venom.  A  sense  of 
mutual  dependence  for  their  common  security  linked 
them  in  amity;  and  conducting  their  several  purposes  in 
harmonious  concert,  together  they  toiled  and  together  suf¬ 
fered. 

Not  all  the  “  pomp  and  pride  and  pageantry  ”  of  life, 
could  vie  with  the  Arcadian  scenes  which  encircled  the 
rude  cottages  of  those  men.  Their  hnmble  dwellings  wmre 
the  abode  of  virtues,  rarely  found  in  the  “  cloud  capt  towers 
and  [102]  gorgeous  palaces”  of  splendid  ambition.  And 
when  peace  reigned  around  them,  neither  the  gaudy  trap¬ 
pings  of  wealth,  nor  the  insignia  of  office,  nor  the  slaked 
thirst  for  distinction,  could  have  added  to  the  happiness 
which  they  enjoyed. 

In  their  intercourse  with  others  they  were  kind, 
beneficent  and  disinterested;  extending  to  all,  the  most 
generous  hospitality  which  their  circumstances  could  af¬ 
ford.  That  selfishness,  which  prompts  to  liberality  for  the 
sake  of  remuneration,  and  proffers  the  civilities  of  life 
with  an  eye  to  individual  interest,  was  unknown  to  them. 
They  were  kind  for  kindness  sake;  and  sought  no  other 
recompense,  than  the  never  failing  concomitant  of  good 
deeds — the  reward  of  an  approving  conscience. 

It  is  usual  for  men  in  the  decline  of  life,  to  contrast 
the  scenes  which  are  then  being  exhibited,  with  those 
through  which  they  passed  in  the  days  of  youth ;  and  not 
unfrequently,  to  moralize  on  the  decay  of  those  virtues, 
which  enhance  the  enjoyment  of  life  and  give  to  pleasure 
its  highest  relish.  The  mind  is  then  apt  to  revert  to 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


133 


earlier  times,  and  to  dwell  with  satisfaction  on  the  man¬ 
ners  and  customs  which  prevailed  in  the  hey-day  of  youth. 
Every  change  which  may  have  been  wrought  in  them  is 
deemed  a  deteriorating  innovation,  and  the  sentence  of 
their  condemnation  unhesitatingly  pronounced.  This  is 
not  always,  the  result  of  impartial  and  discriminating 
judgment.  It  is  perhaps,  more  frequently  founded  in 
prepossession;  and  based  on  the  prejudices  of  education 
and  habit. 

On  the  other  hand  those  who  are  just  entering  on  the 
vestibule  of  life,  are  prone  to  give  preference  to  the  habits 
of  the  present  generation  ;  viewing,  too  often,  with  con¬ 
temptuous  derision,  those  of  the  past.  Mankind  certainly 
advance  in  intelligence  and  refinement;  but  virtue  and 
happiness  do  not  at  all  times  keep  pace  with  this  progress. 
“  To  inform  the  understanding,”  is  not  always  “  to  correct 
and  enlarge  the  heart nor  do  the  blandishments  of  life 
invariably  add  to  the  sum  of  moral  excellence ;  they  are 
often  “  as  dead  sea  fruit  that  tempts  the  eye,  but  turns  to 
ashes  on  the  lips.” — While  a  rough  exterior  as  frequently 
covers  a  temper  of  the  utmost  benignity,  happy  in  itself 
and  giving  happiness  to  all  around. 

Such  were  the  pioneers  of  this  country ;  and  the 
greater  part  of  mankind  might  now  derive  advantage  from 
the  [103]  contemplation  of  “  their  humble  virtues,  hospita¬ 
ble  homes  and  spirits  patient,  noble,  proud  and  free — their 
self  respect,  grafted  on  innocent  thoughts ;  their  days  of 
health  and  nights  of  sleep — their  toils,  by  danger  digni¬ 
fied,  yet  guiltless — their  hopes  of  cheerful  old  age  and 
a  quiet  grave,  with  cross  and  garland  over  its  green  turf, 
and  their  grand  children’s  love  for  epitaph.” 


134 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[104]  CHAPTER  VI. 

In  the  year  1774,  the  peace,  which  had  subsisted  with 
hut  little  violation  since  the  treaty  of  1765,  received  an  in¬ 
terruption,  which  checked  for  a  while  the  emigration  to 
the  North  Western  frontier;  and  involved  its  infant  settle¬ 
ments  in  a  war  with  the  Indians.  This  result  has  been  at- 
tributed  to  various  causes.  Some  have  asserted  that  it 
had  its  origin  in  the  murder  of  some  Indians  on  the  Ohio 
river  both  above  and  below  Wheeling,  in  the  spring  of 
that  year.  Others  suppose  it  to  have  been  produced  by 
the  instigation  of  British  emissaries,  and  the  influence  of 
Canadian  traders. 

That  it  was  not  caused  by  the  murders  at  Captina, 
and  opposite  the  mouth  of  Yellow  creek,1  is  fairly  infer¬ 
rible  from  the  fact,  that  several  Indians  had  been  pre¬ 
viously  murdered  by  the  whites  in  a  period  of  the  most 
profound  tranquillity,  without  having  led  to  a  similar  is- 

1  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  represents  this  as  happen¬ 
ing  at  Grave  creek,  which  empties  into  the  Ohio  from  the  south  eastern, 
or  Virginia  side  of  this  river,  twelve  miles  below  Wheeling.  Those  who 
lived  near  at  the  time  and  are  supposed  to  have  had  the  best  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  say  that  it  happened  near  the  mouth  of 
Captina,  a  creek  sixteen  miles  below  Wheeling,  and  on  the  Ohio  side. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — What  is  called  the  “  Captina  affair  ”  happened 
April  27th,  at  Pipe  Creek,  emptying  into  the  Ohio  from  the  west,  four¬ 
teen  miles  below  Wheeling,  and  six  above  Captina  Creek.  Two  friendly 
Shawnees  were  killed  here  by  a  party  commanded  by  Michael  Cresap, 
of  Redstone,  who  at  the  time  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wheeling, 
surveying  and  clearing  farms  for  new  settlers.  Cresap  and  his  men, 
among  whom  was  George  Rogers  Clark,  then  a  young  surveyor  who  had 
a  claim  at  the  mouth  of  Fish  Creek,  thereupon  started  out  to  destroy 
Chief  Logan’s  camp,  at  Baker’s  Bottom,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Yellow 
Creek,  fifty-three  miles  up  the  Ohio,  and  forty  miles  west  of  Pittsburg 
by  land  ;  but  as  Logan  was  a  well-known  friend  of  the  whites,  they  be¬ 
came  ashamed  of  their  project,  and  marched  on  across  country  to  Fort 
Redstone.  Meanwhile,  as  will  be  seen  in  due  course,  others  were  pre¬ 
paring  to  destroy  Logan’s  band,  and  on  April  30th  occurred  that  infa¬ 
mous  massacre  which  Logan  wrongly  believed  to  be  Cresap’s  work. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


135 


sue;  or  even  given  rise  to  any  act  of  retaliation,  on  the 
part  of  the  friends  or  countrymen  of  those,  who  had  been 
thus  murdered. 

At  different  periods  of  time,  between  the  peace  of 
1765,  and  the  renewal  of  hostilities  in  1774,  three  Indians 
were  unprovokedly  killed  by  John  Ryan,  on  the  Ohio, 
Monongahela  and  Cheat  rivers.  The  first  who  suffered 
from  the  unrestrained  licentiousness  of  this  man,  was  an 
Indian  of  distinction  in  his  tribe,  and  known  by  the  name 
of  Capt.  Peter ;  the  other  two  were  private  warriors.  And 
but  that  Governor  Dunmore,  from  the  representations 
made  to  him,  was  induced  [105]  to  offer  a  reward  for  his 
apprehension,  which  caused  him  to  leave  the  country, 
Ryan  would  probably  have  continued  to  murder  every 
Indian,  with  whom  he  should  chance  to  meet,  wandering 
through  the  settlements. 

Several  Indians  were  likewise  killed  on  the  South 
Branch,  while  on  a  friendly  visit  to  that  country,  in  the 
interval  of  peace.  This  deed  is  said  to  have  been  done 
by  Henry  Judah,  Nicholas  Harpold  and  their  associates; 
and  when  Judah  was  arrested  for  the  offence,  so  great  was 
the  excitement  among  those  who  had  suffered  from  sav¬ 
age  enmity,  that  he  was  rescued  from  confinement  by 
upwards  of  two  hundred  men,  collected  for  that  especial 
purpose. 

The  Bald  Eagle  was  an  Indian  of  notoriety,  not  only 
among  his  own  nation,  but  also  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  North  Western  frontier;  with  whom  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  associating  and  hunting.  In  one  of  his  visits 
among  them,  he  was  discovered  alone,  by  Jacob  Scott, 
William  Hacker  and  Elijah  Runner,  who,  reckless  of  the 
consequences,  murdered  him,  solely  to  gratify  a  most  wan¬ 
ton  thirst  for  Indian  blood.  After  the  commission  of  this 
most  outrageous  enormity,  they  seated  him  in  the  stern 
of  a  canoe,  and  with  a  piece  of  journey-cake  thrust  into 
his  mouth,  set  him  afloat  in  the  Monongahela.  In  this 
situation  he  was  seen  descending  the  river,  by  several,  who 
supposed  him  to  be  as  usual,  returning  from  a  friendly 
hunt  with  the  whites  in  the  upper  settlements,  and  who 
expressed  some  astonishment  that  he  did  not  stop  to  see 


136 


Withers's  Chronicles 


them.  The  canoe  floating  near  to  the  shore,  below  the 
mouth  of  George’s  creek,  was  observed  by  a  Mrs.  Prov¬ 
ince,  who  had  it  brought  to  the  bank,  and  the  friendly, 
hut  unfortunate  old  Indian  decently  buried. 

Hot  long  after  the  murder  of  the  Bald  Eagle,  another 
outrage  of  a  similar  nature  was  committed  on  a  peaceable 
Indian,  bjr  William  White;  and  for  which  he  was  appre¬ 
hended  and  taken  to  Winchester  for  trial.  But  the  fury 
of  the  populace  did  not  suffer  him  to  remain  there  await¬ 
ing  that  event. — The  prison  doors  were  forced,  the  irons 
knocked  off  him  and  he  again  set  at  liberty. 

But  a  still  more  atrocious  act  is  said  to  have  been  soon 
after  perpetrated.  Until  then  the  murders  committed, 
were  only  on  such  as  were  found  within  the  limits  of  white 
settlements,  and  on  men  &  warriors.  In  1772,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe,  that  women  and  children  like¬ 
wise  became  victims  to  the  exasperated  feelings  of  our 
[106]  own  citizens;  and  this  too,  while  quietly  enjoying 
the  comforts  of  their  own  huts,  in  their  own  village. 

There  was  at  that  time  an  Indian  town  on  the  Little 
Kenhawa,  (called  Bulltown)  inhabited  by  five  families,  who 
were  in  habits  of  social  and  friendly  intercourse  with  the 
whites  on  Buchannon  and  on  Hacker’s  creek;  frequently 
visiting  and  hunting  with  them.1  There  was  likewise  re¬ 
siding  on  Gauley  river,  the  family  of  a  German  by  the 
name  of  Stroud.2  In  the  summer  of  that  year,  Mr.  Stroud 

1  Capt.  Bull  was  a  Delaware  chief  whose  original  village  of  Oghkwaga 
was  on  Unadilla  River,  an  eastern  branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  in  what 
is  now  Boone  county,  N.  Y.  He  had  been  the  prime  mover  in  an  at¬ 
tempt  to  interest  the  Delawares  in  Pontiac’s  conspiracy  (1763).  In 
March,  1764,  a  strong  party  of  whites  and  friendly  Indians  were  sent 
out  tc  capture  him,  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  English  Indian  superin¬ 
tendent  in  New  York.  After  a  sharp  struggle,  Bull  and  a  number  of 
his  adherents  were  captured  and  conveyed  in  irons  to  New  York  City, 
wThere  they  were  imprisoned  for  a  time,  but  finally  discharged.  The 
Delaware  towns  on  the  Unadilla  having  been  burned,  Bull  and  five 
families  of  his  relatives  settled  what  the  whites  called  Bulltown,  on 
the  Little  Kanawha.  This  was  at  a  salt  spring  about  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  below  the  present  Bulltown  P.  0.,  Braxton  county,  Ya.  Capt. 
Bull  and  his  people  were  inoffensive,  and  very  friendly  to  their  white 
neighbors,  as  our  author  says.^-R.  G.  T. 

2  Adam  Stroud  lived  on  Elk  River,  a  few  miles  south  of  Indian. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


137 


being  from  home,  his  family  were  all  murdered,  his  house 
plundered,  and  his  cattle  driven  off.  The  trail  made  by 
these  leading  in  the  direction  of  Bulltown,  induced  the 
supposition  that  the  Indians  of  that  village  had  been  the 
authors  of  the  outrage,  and  caused  several  to  resolve  on 
avenging  it  upon  them. 

A  party  of  five  men,  (two  of  whom  were  William 
White  and  William  Hacker,* 1  who  had  been  concerned  in 
previous  murders)  expressed  a  determination  to  proceed 
immediately  to  Bulltown.  The  remonstrance  of  the  set¬ 
tlement  generally,  could  not  operate  to  efiect  a  change  in 
that  determination.  They  went;  and  on  their  return,  cir¬ 
cumstances  justified  the  belief  that  the  pre-apprehension 
of  those  who  knew  the  temper  and  feelings  of  White  and 
Hacker,  had  been  well  founded;  and  that  there  had  been 
some  fighting  between  them  and  the  Indians.  And  not¬ 
withstanding  that  they  denied  ever  having  seen  an  Indian 
in  their  absence,  yet  it  was  the  prevailing  opinion,  that 
they  had  destroyed  all  the  men,  women  and  children  at 
Bulltown,  and  threw  their  bodies  into  the  river.  Indeed, 

Bulltown.  The  massacre  of  his  family — his  wife  and  seven  children — 
occurred  in  June,  1772.  Shawnees  were  the  murderers,  and  not  Bull’s 
people. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Mr.  McWhorter  writes  me  that  two  others  were  Jesse  Hughes  and 
John  Outright  (corruption  of  Cartwright?),  both  of  them  settlers  on 
Hacker’s  Creek.  Hughes  was  a  noted  border  scout,  but  a  man  of 
tierce,  unbridled  passions,  and  so  confirmed  an  Indian  hater  that 
no  tribesman,  however  peaceful  his  record,  was  safe  in  his  presence. 
Some  of  the  most  cruel  acts  on  the  frontier  are  by  tradition  at¬ 
tributed  to  this  man.  The  massacre  of  the  Bulltown  Indians  was 
accompanied  by  atrocities  as  repulsive  as  any  reported  by  captives 
in  Indian  camps ;  of  these  there  had  long  been  traditions,  but  details 
were  not  fully  known  until  revealed  by  Cutright  upon  his  death-bed 
in  1852,  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  105  years.  Want  of  space 
alone  prevents  me  from  giving  Mr.  McWhorter’s  narrative  of  Hughes’s 
long  and  bloody  career.  “  Hughes  died,”  he  says,  “  in  Jackson  county, 
W.  Va.,  at  a  date  unknown  to  me,  but  in  very  old  age.  While  he  was 
a  great  scout  and  Indian  trader,  he  never  headed  an  expedition  of  note. 
This  no  doubt  was  because  of  his  fierce  temperament,  and  bad  reputa¬ 
tion  among  his  own  countrymen.”  In  studying  the  annals  of  the  bor¬ 
der,  we  must  not  fail  to  note  that  here  and  there  were  many  savage- 
hearted  men  among  the  white  settlers,  whose  deeds  were  quite  as  atro¬ 
cious  as  any  attributed  to  the  red-skins.  Current  histories  of  Indian 
warfare  seldom  recognize  this  fact. — R.  G.  T. 


138 


Withers's  Chronicles 


one  of  the  party  is  said  to  have,  inadvertently,  used  ex¬ 
pressions,  confirmatory  of  this  opinion  ;  and  to  have  then 
justified  the  deed,  by  saying  that  the  clothes  and  other 
things  known  to  have  belonged  to  Stroud’s  family,  were 
found  in  the  possession  of  the  Indians.  The  village  was 
soon  after  visited,  and  found  to  he  entirely  desolated,  and 
nothing  being  ever  after  heard  of  its  former  inhabitants, 
there  can  remain  no  doubt  but  that  the  murder  of  Stroud’s 
family,  was  requited  on  them. 

Here  then  was  a  fit  time  for  the  Indians  to  commence 
a  system  of  retaliation  and  war,  if  they  were  disposed  to 
engage  in  hostilities,  for  offences  of  this  kind  alone.  Yet 
no  such  event  was  the  consequence  of  the  killing  of  the 
Bulltown  Indians,  or  of  those  other  murders  which  pre¬ 
ceded  that  outrage ;  and  it  maybe  hence  rationally  con¬ 
cluded,  that  the  murders  on  the  Ohio  river  did  not  lead  to 
such  an  event.  If  however,  a  doubt  should  still  remain, 
that  doubt  is  surely  removed  by  the  declaration  of  Logan 
himself.  It  was  his  family  that  was  killed  opposite  Yel¬ 
low  creek,  about  the  last  of  April;  and  in  the  following 
July  (after  the  expedition  against  the  Wappatomica  towns, 
under  Col.  McDonald)  he  says,  “  the  Indiens  are  not  angry 
on  account  of  those  murders,  but  only  myself.”  The  fact 
is,  that  hostilities  had  commenced  before  the  happening 
of  the  affair  at  Captina,  or  that  near  Yellow  creek  ;  and 
these,  instead  of  having  produced  that  event,  were  the 
consequence  of  the  previous  hostile  movements  of  the  In¬ 
dians. 

[107]  Those  who  lived  more  immediately  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  the  scene  of  action  at  that  time,  were  generally 
of  opinion,  that  the  Indians  were  urged  to  war  by  the  in¬ 
stigation  of  emissaries  from  Great  Britain,  and  of  the 
Canadian  traders;  and,  independently  of  any  knowledge 
which  they  may  have  had  of  the  conduct  of  these,  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  a  general  nature  would  seem  to  justify  that 
opinion. 

The  relative  situation  of  the  American  colonies  and 
the  mother  country,  is  matter  of  general  history,  and  too 
well  known  to  require  being  repeated  here.  It  is  equally 
well  known  too,  that  from,  the  first  establishment  of  a 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


139 


colony  in  Canada,  the  Canadians  obtained  an  influence 
over  the  Natives,  greater  than  the  Anglo-Americans  were 
ever  able  to  acquire ;  and  that  this  influence  was  frequently 
exercised  by  them,  to  the  great  annoyance,  and  manifest 
injury  of  the  latter.  France  and  England  have  been  long 
considered  as  natural  enemies;  and  the  inhabitants  of  their 
respective  plantations  in  America,  entertained  strong  feel¬ 
ings  of  jealousy  towards  each  other.  When  by  the  treaty 
of  Paris,  the  French  possessions  in  North  America  (which 
had  not  been  ceded  to  Spain,)  were  transferred  to  Great 
Britain,  those  feelings  were  not  subdued.  The  Canadians 
still  regarded  themselves  as  a  different  people.  Their  na¬ 
tional  prejudices  were  too  great  to  be  extinguished  by  an 
union  under  the  same  prince.  Under  the  influence  of 
these  prejudices,  and  the  apprehension,  that  the  lucrative 
commerce  of  the  natives  might,  by  the  competition  of  the 
English  traders,  be  diverted  from  its  accustomed  channels, 
they  may  have  exerted  themselves  to  excite  the  Indians  to 
war;  but  that  alone  would  hardly  have  produced  this  re¬ 
sult.  There  is  in  man  an  inherent  partiality  for  self,  which 
leads  him  to  search  for  the  causes  of  any  evil,  elsewhere 
than  in  his  own  conduct ;  and  under  the  operation  of  this 
propensity  to  assign  the  burden  of  wrong  to  be  borne  by 
others,  the  Jesuits  from  Canada  and  Louisiana  were  cen¬ 
sured  for  the  continuation  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians,  after  it  had  been  terminated  with  their  allies  by 
the  treaty  of  1763.  Yet  that  event  was,  no  doubt,  justly 
attributable  to  the  erection  of  forts,  and  the  location  of 
land,  in  the  district  of  country  claimed  by  the  natives,  in 
the  province  of  Pennsylvania.  And  in  like  manner,  the 
origin  of  the  war  of  1774  may  fairly  be  charged  to  the  en¬ 
croachments  which  were  then  being  made  on  the  Indian 
territory.  To  be  convinced  of  this,  it  is  necessary  to  ad¬ 
vert  to  the  promptitude  of  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
Natives,  by  which  those  encroachments  were  invariably 
met;  and  to  recur  to  events  happening  in  other  sections 
of  the  country. — Events,  perhaps  no  otherwise  connected 
with  the  history  of  North  Western  Virginia,  than  as  they 
are  believed  to  have  been  the  proximate  causes  of  an  hos¬ 
tility,  eventuating  in  the  effusion  of  much  of  its  blood ; 


140 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


and  pregnant  with  other  circumstances,  having  an  im¬ 
portant  bearing  on  its  prosperity  and  advancement. 

In  the  whole  history  of  America,  from  the  time  when 
it  first  [108]  became  apparent  that  the  occupancy  of  the 
country  was  the  object  of  the  whites,  up  to  the  present 
period,  is  there  perhaps  to  be  found  a  solitary  instance,  in 
which  an  attempt,  made  by  the  English  to  effect  a  settle¬ 
ment  in  a  wilderness  claimed  by  the  Natives,  was  not  suc¬ 
ceeded  by  immediate  acts  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the 
latter.  Every  advance  of  the  kind  was  regarded  by  them, 
as  tending  to  effect  their  expulsion  from  a  country,  which 
they  had  long  considered  as  their  own,  and  as  leading, 
most  probably,  to  their  entire  extinction  as  a  people.  This 
excited  in  them  feelings  of  the  most  dire  resentment; 
stimulating  to  deeds  of  cruelty  and  murder,  at  once  to 
repel  the  encroachment  and  to  punish  its  authors.  Expe¬ 
rience  of  the  utter  futility  of  those  means  to  accomplish 
these  purposes,  has  never  availed  to  repress  their  use,  or 
to  produce  an  acquiesence  in  the  wrong.  Even  attempts 
to  extend  jurisdiction  over  a  country,  the  right  of  soil  in 
which  was  never  denied  them,  have  ever  given  rise  to  the 
most  lively  apprehensions  of  their  fatal  consequences,  and 
prompted  to  the  employment  of  means  to  thwart  that  aim. 
An  Indian  sees  no  difference  between  the  right  of  empire 
and  the  right  of  domain ;  and  just  as  little  can  he  discrim¬ 
inate  between  the  right  of  property,  acquired  by  the  actual 
cultivation  of  the  earth,  and  that  which  arises  from  its  ap¬ 
propriation  to  other  uses. 

Among  themselves  they  have  lines  of  demarkation, 
which  distinguish  the  territory  of  one  nation  from  that  of 
another;  and  these  are  of  such  binding  authority,  that  a 
transgression  of  them  by  neighboring  Indians,  leads  inva¬ 
riably  to  war.  In  treaties  of  purchase,  and  other  conven¬ 
tional  arrangements,  made  with  them  by  the  whites,  the 
validity  of  their  rights  to  land,  have  been  repeatedly 
recognized ;  and  an  infraction  of  those  rights  by  the 
Anglo-Americans,  encounters  opposition  at  its  threshold. 
The  history  of  every  attempt  to  settle  a  wilderness,  to 
which  the  Indian  title  was  not  previously  extinguished, 


Of  Border  Warfare.  141 

has  consequently  been  a  history  of  plunder,  conflagration 
and  massacre. 

That  the  extension  of  white  settlements  into  the  In- 
dian  country,  was  the  cause  of  the  war  of  1774,  will  be 
abundantly  manifested  by  a  recurrence  to  the  early  history 
of  Kentucky;  and  a  brief  review  of  the  circumstances  com 
nected  with  the  first  attempts  to  explore  and  make  estab¬ 
lishments  in  it.  For  several  reasons,  these  circumstances 
merit  a  passing  notice  in  this  place.  Redstone  and  Fort 
Pitt  (now  Brownsville  and  Pittsburgh)  were  for  some  time, 
the  principal  points  of  embarkation  for  emigrants  to  that 
country ;  many  of  whom  were  from  the  establishments 
which  had  been  then  not  long  made,  on  the  Monongahela. 
The  Indians,  regarding  the  settlements  in  Korth  Western 
Virginia  as  the  line  from  which  swarmed  the  adventurers 
to  Kentucky,  directed  their  operations  to  prevent  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  these  adventurers,  as  well  against  the  inhabitants 
of  the  upper  country,  as  against  them.  While  at  the  same 
time,  in  the  efi’orts  which  were  made  to  compel  the  Indians 
to  desist  from  farther  opposition,  the  Korth  Western  Vir¬ 
ginians  frequently  combined  [109]  their  forces,  and  acted 
in  conjunction,  the  more  certainly  to  accomplish  that  ob¬ 
ject.  In  truth  the  war,  which  was  then  commenced,  and 
carried  on  with  but  little  intermission  up  to  the  treaty  of 
Fort  Greenville  in  1795  was  a  war  in  which  they  were 
equally  interested,  having  for  its  aim  the  indiscriminate 
destruction  of  the  inhabitants  of  both  those  sections  of 
country,  as  the  means  of  preventing  the  farther  extension 
of  settlements  by  the  whites.1 

1  Lord  Dunmore’s  War  (1774)  was  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the 
strained  relations  which  had  long  existed  between  the  savages  and  the 
white  colonists  in  their  midst.  As  our  author  has  made  clear,  minor 
hostilities  had  broken  out  here  and  there  ever  since  the  Pontiac  upris¬ 
ing,  but  there  had  been  no  general  campaign  since  Bouquet’s  treaty  in 
1764.  Affairs  had  come  to  that  pass  by  the  early  spring  of  1774,  that 
diplomacy  was  no  longer  possible,  and  an  Indian  war  was  inevitable. 
It  was  merely  a  question  of  detail,  as  to  how  and  when.  The  immediate 
cause  of  precipitation — not  the  cause  of  the  war,  for  that  lay  deeper — 
was  the  territorial  dispute  over  the  Ft.  Pitt  region,  between  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania.  Dunmore,  as  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  had  sev¬ 
eral  reasons  for  bringing  matters  to  a  head — he  was  largely  interested 


142 


Withers's  Chronicles 


When  Kentucky  was  first  begun  to  be  explored,  it  is 
said  not  to  have  been  claimed  in  individual  property  by 
any  nation  of  Indians.  Its  extensive  forests,  grassy 
plains  and  thick  cane  brakes,  abounding  with  every  variety 
of  game  common  to  such  latitudes,  wrere  used  as  common 
hunting  grounds,  and  considered  by  them,  as  open  for  all 
who  chose  to  resort  to  them.  The  Cherokees,  the  Chick- 
asaws,  the  Cataubas,  and  the  Chicamaugos,  from  the  south 
oast;  and  the  Illinois,  the  Peorias,  the  Delawares,  the 
Mingoes  and  Shawanees  from  the  west,  claimed  and 
oxercised  equal  rights  and  privileges  within  its  limits. 
When  the  tribes  of  those  different  nations  would  however 
meet  there,  frequent  collisions  would  arise  between  them  ; 
and  so  deadly  were  the  conflicts  ensuing  upon  these,  that, 
in  conjunction  with  the  gloom  of  its  dense  forests,  they 
acquired  for  it  the  impressive  appellation  of  “  the  dark 
and  bloody  ground.”  But  frequent  and  deadly  as  may 
have  been  those  conflicts,  they  sprang  from  some  other 
cause,  than  a  claim  to  exclusive  property  in  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1769,  Daniel  Boone,  in  company 
with  John  Pinley  (who  had  previously  hunted  through 
the  country)  and  a  few  other  men,  entered  Kentucky,  and 
travelled  over  much  of  its  surface,  without  meeting  with 

in  land  speculations  under  Virginia  patents  that  would  be  vitiated  if 
Pennsylvania,  now  becoming  aggressive,  should  succeed  in  planting  her 
official  machinery  at  Ft.  Pitt,  which  was  garrisoned  by  Virginia ;  again, 
his  colonists  were  in  a  revolutionary  frame  of  mind,  and  he  favored  a 
distraction  in  the  shape  of  a  popular  Indian  war;  finally,  it  seemed  as 
though  a  successful  raid  by  Virginia  militia  would  clinch  Virginia’s  hold 
on  the  country  and  the  treaty  of  peace  that  must  follow  would  widen 
the  area  of  provincial  lands  and  encourage  Western  settlements.  April 
25,  1774,  he  issued  a  proclamation  in  which,  after  reference  to  Penn¬ 
sylvania’s  claims,  it  wras  asserted  that  Ft.  Pitt  was  “  in  danger  of  some 
annoyance  from  the  Indians,”  and  he  called  on  his  local  military  com¬ 
mandant,  the  fire-eating  Dr.  John  Connolly,  “  to  embody  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  repel  any  insult.”  Connolly,  evidently  as  part  of 
a  preconcerted  plan,  at  once  (April  26)  issued  a  circular  letter  to  the  ex¬ 
cited  borderers,  which  was  well  calculated  to  arouse  them,  being  in  ef¬ 
fect  a  declaration  of  war  against  the  Indians.  The  very  next  day 
occurred  the  Pipe  Creek  affair,  then  came  the  Logan  tragedy  at  Baker’s 
Bottom,  three  days  later,  and  at  once  the  war  was  on  at  full-head. — 
K.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


143 


an  Indian,  until  the  December  following.1  At  this  time 
Boone  and  John  Steward  (one  of  his  companions,)  while 
on  a  hunting  excursion,  were  discovered  by  a  party  of 
Indians,  who  succeeded  in  making  them  prisoners.  After 

1  Of  John  Findlay  (so  he  signed  his  name),  “the  precursor  and 
pilot  of  Daniel  Boone  to  Kentucky,”  but  little  is  known  and  less  has 
been  published.  Apparently  he  was  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland. 
In  early  life  he  emigrated  to  the  neighborhood  of  Carlisle,  Cumberland 
county,  Pa.,  a  district  almost  wholly  settled  by  Scotch-Irish  Protestants. 
In  February,  1752,  we  find  him  a  trader  among  the  Shawnees ;  the 
following  year,  he  was  robbed  and  driven  off.  It  is  probable  that  he 
served  in  the  Pennsylvania  frontier  militia  from  the  opening  of  the 
French  and  Indian  War  (1754).  Boone  met  him  on  the  Braddock  cam¬ 
paign  (1755),  and  they  became  fast  friends.  Findlay  had  already  (1752) 
been  in  Kentucky  as  far  as  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  in  the  course  ofhisramb- 
lings  as  a  trader,  and  inspired  Boone  with  an  intense  desire  to  seek  this  El 
Dorado  of  the  West.  It  was  in  1767,  when  settled  near  the  head  of  the  Yad¬ 
kin  River,  that  Boone  first  tried  to  reach  Kentucky  by  way  of  the  Sandy, 
but  failed.  In  the  winter  of  1768-69,  Findlay,  now  a  peddler,  with  a  horse 
to  carry  his  traps,  appeared  at  Boone’s  cabin  on  the  Yadkin,  and  the 
two  old  comrades  had  a  happy  time  rehearsing  their  various  adventures 
during  the  thirteen  years  of  separation.  An  expedition  to  Kentucky 
was  agreed  upon,  and  the  party  set  out  from  Boone’s  cabin,  May  1, 1769 ; 
it  was  composed  of  Findlay,  now  advanced  in  years,  Daniel  Boone,  the 
latter’s  brother-in-law,  John  Stuart,  and  three  Yadkin  neighbors,  Jo¬ 
seph  Holden,  James  Mooney,  and  William  Cooley.  The  story  of  their 
expedition  through  Cumberland  Gap,  and  their  long  hunt,  is  now  famil¬ 
iar  to  readers  of  Western  history.  Their  principal  camp  was  probably  on 
Red  Lick  Fork  of  Station  Camp  Creek.  In  December,  Stuart  and  Boone 
were  captured  by  Indians,  but  escaped  early  in  January  (1770),  and  on  re¬ 
joining  their  comrades  on  Rockcastle  River  found  that  Daniel’s  brother, 
Squire,  had  arrived  with  fresh  horses  and  traps  from  the  North  Carolina 
home  ;  and  with  him  was  Alexander  Neely,  whom  Squire  had  found  on 
New  (Great  Kanawha)  River.  Findlay,  Holden,  Mooney,  and  Cooley 
now  elected  to  return  home,  leaving  the  others  to  spend  a  longer  period 
in  Kentucky;  Findlay  took  the  left-hand  road  through  the  West  Vir¬ 
ginia  settlements,  to  Pennsylvania,  and  the  others,  turning  to  the  right, 
wended  their  way  to  North  Carolina  through  Cumberland  Gap.  Not 
long  after  this,  Stuart  was  killed  by  Indians,  while  alone  in  the  woods, 
and  Neely,  discouraged  by  his  fate,  returned  home.  The  story,  often 
copied  from  Withers,  that  Neely  was  killed  by  a  wolf,  is  erroneous.  As 
for  Findlay,  he  appears  to  have  again  become  an  Indian  trader  in  West¬ 
ern  Pennsylvania ;  for  late  in  1771  he  is  reported  to  have  been  robbed 
of  $500  worth  of  goods,  by  a  Seneca  war  party  raiding  the  Ybughioglieny 
district.  There  is  a  tradition  that  not  long  after  this  he  “  was  lost  in  the 
wilds  of  the  West.”  Holden  and  Cooley  spent  the  rest  of  their  days  on 
the  Upper  Yadkin.  Mooney  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant 
(1774).— R.  G.  T. 


144 


Withers's  Chronicles 


a  detention  of  but  few  days,  these  men  effected  their  es¬ 
cape ;  &  returning  to  their  old  camp,  found  that  it  had 
been  plundered,  and  their  associates,  either  killed  or  taken 
into  captivity.  They  were  shortly  after  joined  by  a  brother 
of  Daniel  Boone  and  another  man,  from  North  Carolina, 
who  were  so  fortunate  in  wandering  through  the  wilder¬ 
ness,  as  to  discover  the  only,  though  temporary  residence 
of  civilized  man  within  several  hundred  miles.*  But  the 
Indians  had  become  alarmed  for  the  possession  of  that 
country ;  and  fearing  that  if  Boone  and  Steward  should  be 
suffered  to  escape  to  the  settlements,  they  might  induce 
others  to  attempt  its  permanent  occupancy,  they  sought 
with  vigilance  to  discover  and  murder  them.  They  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  killing  Steward ;  but  Daniel  Boone  and  his 
brother,  then  the  only  persons  left  (the  man  who  came  out 
with  the  younger  Boone  having  been  killed  by  a  wolf,)  es¬ 
caped  from  them,  and  soon  after  returned  to  North  Caro¬ 
lina. 

The  Indians  were  not  disappointed  in  their  expecta¬ 
tions.  The  description  given  of  the  country  by  the 
Boones,  soon  led  others  to  attempt  its  settlement  ;  and  in 
1773,  six  families  and  about  forty  men,  all  under  the 
guidance  of  Daniel  Boone,  commenced  their  journey  [110] 
to  Kentucky  with  a  view  of  remaining  there.  Before 
they  proceeded  far,  they  were  attacked  in  the  rear  by  a 
party  of  Indians,  who  had  been  observing  their  move¬ 
ments  ;  and  who  in  the  first  fire  killed  six  of  the  emi¬ 
grants  and  dispersed  their  cattle.  Nothwithstanding  that, 
in  the  engagement  which  ensued  upon  this  attack,  the 
assailants  were  repulsed,  yet  the  adventurers  were  so 
afflicted  at  the  loss  of  their  friends,  and  dispirited  by  such 
serious  and  early  opposition,  that  they  abandoned  their 
purpose  for  a  time,  and  returned  to  the  inhabited  parts  of 
Tennessee.1 


1  The  Boones  and  five  other  families  set  out  from  theiriiomes  on  the 
Yadkin,  Sept.  25,  1773.  In  Powell’s  Valley  they  were  joined  by  forty 
people  under  Boone’s  brother-in-law,  William  Bryan.  While  the  main 
party  were  slowly  advancing  through  the  valley,  a  small  squad,  under 
Boone’s  oldest  son,  James,  went  on  a  side  expedition  for  flour,  cattle, 
and  other  supplies.  With  these  they  had  nearly  caught  up  to  the  advance, 


145 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

The  Indians  elated  with  their  success  in  defeating  this 
first  attempt  at  the  settlement  of  Kentucky,  and  supposing 
that  the  route  pursued  by  the  party  which  they  had  driven 
back,  would  be  the  pass  for  future  adventurers,  determined 
on  guarding  it  closely,  and  checking,  if  possible,  every 
similar  enterprise.  But  while  their  attention  was  directed 
to  this  point,  others  found  their  way  into  the  country  by 
a  different  route  and  from  a  different  direction. 

The  Virginia  troops,  who  had  served  in  the  Canadian 
war,  had  been  promised  a  bounty  in  Western  lands.  Mauy 
of  them  being  anxious  to  ascertain  their  value,  and  deem¬ 
ing  this  a  favorable  period  for  the  making  of  surveys,  col¬ 
lected  at  Fort  Pitt  in  the  fall  of  1773  ;  and  descending  the  * 
Ohio  river  to  its  falls,  at  Louisville,  proceeded  from  thence 
to  explore  the  country  preparatory  to  a  perfection  of  their 
grants.1 

when,  not  knowing  they  were  so  near,  they  camped  on  the  evening  of 
October  9  a  few  miles  in  the  rear.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  10th, 
a  small  band  of  Shawnees  and  Cherokees,  who  were  nominally  at  peace 
with  the  whites,  fell  upon  and,  after  cruel  tortures,  slaughtered  them. 
In  Dunmore’s  speech  at  Fort  Pitt,  this  tragedy  in  Powell’s  Valley  was 
alluded  to  as  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  the  Indian  war  of  1774.  At  the 
Camp  Charlotte  treaty  (October,  1774),  some  of  the  plunder  from  this 
massacre  was  delivered  up  by  the  savages.  After  the  tragedy,  the  greater 
part  of  the  Kentucky  caravan  returned  to  their  homes,  but  the  Boones 
spent  the  winter  of  1773-74  at  a  settlement  some  forty  miles  distant,  on 
Clinch  River.  During  the  Dunmore  War,  Boone  was  active  as  an  In¬ 
dian  fighter. — R.  G.  T. 

1  The  leader  of  this  party  was  Capt.  Thomas  Bullitt.  He  was  born  in 
Fauquier  county,  Va.,  in  1730 ;  was  one  of  Washington’s  captains  at  the 
Great  Meadows  (1754),  and  fought  gallantly  with  Braddock  (1755)  and 
Forbes  (1758) ;  in  1763,  was  made  adjutant-general  of  Virginia;  during 
the  early  part  of  the  Revolution  he  held  the  same  office  in  the  South¬ 
ern  Department  of  the  United  States,  but  resigned  in  1776  because  not 
promoted  ;  he  died  in  Fauquier  county,  in  1778.  The  project  of  Frank¬ 
lin,  Walpole,  and  others  to  found  the  Colony  of  Pittsylvania,  with  its 
seat  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  greatly  stimulated  Western 
land  speculation,  and  there  was  a  rush  of  those  holding  military  land 
warrants  to  locate  claims.  Lord  Dunmore’s  agent  at  Fort  Pitt,  Dr.  John 
Connolly — with  whom  his  lordship  was  doubtless  in  partnership — had 
large  interests  of  this  character,  and  Bullitt  went  to  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  (1773)  to  survey  lands  for  him.  Bullitt  had  a  surveyor’s  commission 
from  Williams  and  Mary  College,  but  Col.  William  Preston,  county  sur- 
10 


146 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


About  the  same  time  too,  General  Thompson  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania,  commenced  an  extensive  course  of  surveys,  of 
the  rich  land  on  the  North  Fork  of  Licking;  and  other 
individuals  following  his  example,  in  the  ensuing  winter 
the  country  swarmed  with  land  adventurers  and  survey¬ 
ors.  So  sensible  were  they  all,  that  these  attempts  to 
appropriate  those  lands  to  their  own  use,  would  produce 
acts  of  hostility,  that  they  went  prepared  to  resist  those 
acts;  and  the  first  party  who  took  up  their  abode  in  Ken¬ 
tucky,  no  sooner  selected  a  situation  for  their  residence, 
than  they  proceeded  to  erect  a  fort  for  their  security.1- 
The  conduct  of  the  Indians  soon  convinced  them  that 
their  apprehensions  were  not  ill  founded  ;  and  many  of 
them,  in  consequence  of  the  hostile  movements  which 
were  being  made,  and  the  robberies  which  were  com¬ 
mitted,  ascended  the  Ohio  river  to  Wheeling. 

It  is  not  known  that  any  murders  were  done  pre¬ 
viously  to  this,  and  subsequently  to  the  attack  and  repulse 
of  the  emigrants  who  were  led  on  by  Boone  in  1773.  This 
event  happened  on  the  tenth  day  of  October ;  and  it  was 
in  April  the  ensuing  year,  that  the  land  adventurers  re¬ 
tired  to  Wheeling.  In  this  interval  of  time,  nothing 
could,  perhaps,  be  done  by  the  Indians,  but  make  prepara¬ 
tion  [111]  for  hostilities  in  the  spring.  Indeed  it  very 
rarely  happens,  that  the  Indians  engage  in  active  war  dur- 

veyor  for  Fincastle  county — in  which  Kentucky  was  then  included — 
declined  to  recognize  any  but  his  own  deputies.  Preston  carried  his 
point,  and  the  lands  were  re-surveyed  the  following  year  (1774)  by  his 
deputies.  Bullitt  had  laid  off  a  town  on  this  Connolly  survey  ;  but  the 
Revolution  soon  broke  out,  Bullitt  was  otherwise  engaged,  Dunmore  was 
deposed,  Connolly  was  imprisoned,  and  the  scheme  fell  through.  In  1778, 
George  Rogers  Clark  camped  at  the  Falls  on  his  way  to  the  Illinois,  and 
the  garrison  he  established  there  grew  into  the  town  of  Louisville. 
With  Bullitt’s  surveying  party  in  1773,  were  James  Douglas,  James  Har- 
rod,  James  Sodousky,  Isaac  Hite,  Abraham  Haptonstall,  Ebenezer 
Severns,  John  Fitzpatrick,  John  Cowan, — prominent  names  in  later  Ken¬ 
tucky  history, — and  possibly  others.  George  Rogers  Clark  was  probably 
with  the  party  during  a  part  of  its  canoe  voyage  down  the  Ohio,  but 
seems  to  have  gone  no  farther  than  Big  Bone  Creek. — R.  G.  T. 

1  This  was  done  by  a  party  of  men  from  the  Monongahela,  under 
the  guidance  of  James  Harrod  ;  by  whom  was  built  the  first  cabin  for 
human  habitancy  ever  erected  in  Kentucky.  This  was  on  the  present 
site  of  Harrodsburg. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


147 


in g  the  winter;  and  there  is,  moreover,  a  strong  presump¬ 
tion,  that  they  were  for  some  time  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  there  were  adventurers  in  the  country;  and  conse¬ 
quently,  they  knew  of  no  object  there,  on  which  their  hos¬ 
tile  intentions  could  operate. — Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  cer¬ 
tain  that,  from  the  movements  of  the  Indians  at  the  close 
of  the  winter,  the  belief  was  general,  that  they  were  as¬ 
suming  a  warlike  attitude,  and  meditating  a  continuance 
of  hostilities.  War  was  certainly  begun  on  their  part, 
when  Boone  and  his  associates,  were  attacked  and  driven 
back  to  the  settlement ;  and  if  it  abated  for  a  season,  that 
abatement  was  attributable  to  other  causes,  than  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  remain  quiet  and  peaceable,  while  the  country  was 
being  occupied  by  the  w  bites. 

If  other  evidence  were  wanting,  to  prove  the  fact  that 
the  war  of  1774  had  its  origin  in  a  determination  of  the 
Indians  to  repress  the  extension  of  white  settlements,  it 
could  be  found  in  the  circumstance,  that  although  it  was 
terminated  by  the  treaty  with  Lord  Dunmore,  yet  it  re¬ 
vived  as  soon  as  attempts  were  again  made  to  occupy 
Kentucky,  and  was  continued  with  increased  ardour,  ’till 
the  victory  obtained  over  them  by  General  Wayne.  For, 
notwithstanding  that  in  the  struggle  for  American  liberty, 
those  Indians  became  the  allies  of  Great  Britain,  yet  when 
independence  was  acknowledged,  and  the  English  forces 
withdrawn  from  the  colonies,  hostilities  were  still  carried 
on  by  them ;  and,  as  was  then  well  understood,  because  of 
the  continued  operation  of  those  causes,  which  produced 
the  war  of  1774.  That  the  Canadian  traders  and  British 
emissaries,  prompted  the  Indians  to  aggression,  and  ex¬ 
tended  to  them  every  aid  wdiich  they  could,  to  render  that 
aggression  more  effectually  oppressive  and  overwhelming, 
is  readily  admitted.  Yet  this  would  not  have  led  to  a 
war,  but  for  the  encroachments  wdiich  have  been  men¬ 
tioned.  French  influence,  united  to  the  known  jealousy 
of  the  Natives,  would  have  been  unavailingly  exerted  to 
array  the  Indians  against  Virginia,  at  the  commencement 
of  Braddock’s  war,  but  for  the  proceedings  of  the  Ohio 
company,  and  the  fact  that  the  Pennsylvania  traders  rep¬ 
resented  the  object  of  that  association  to  be  purely  terri- 


148 


Withers's  Chronicles 


torial.  And  equally  fruitless  would  have  been  their  en¬ 
deavor  to  involve  them  in  a  contest  [112]  with  Virginians 
at  a  later  period,  but  for  a  like  manifestation  of  an  inten¬ 
tion  to  encroach  on  their  domain. 

-  In  the  latter  end  of  April  1774,  a  party  of  land  advent¬ 
urers,  who  had  fled  from  the  dangers  which  threatened 
them  below,  came  in  collision  with  some  Indians,  near  the 
mouth  of  Captina,  sixteen  miles  below  Wheeling.  A  slight 
skirmish  ensued,  which  terminated  in  the  discomfiture  of 
the  whites,  notwithstanding  they  had  only  one  man 
wounded,  and  one  or  two  of  the  enemy  were  killed. 
About  the  same  time,  happened  the  affair  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Yellow  creek ;  a  stream  emptying  into  the  Ohio 
river  from  the  northwest,  nearly  midway  between  Pitts¬ 
burg  and  Wheeling.1 

In  consequence  of  advices  received  of  the  menacing 
conduct  of  the  Indians,  Joshua  Baker  (who  lived  at  this 
place)  was  preparing,  together  with  his  neighbors,  to  re¬ 
tire  for  safety,  into  some  of  the  nearer  forts,  or  to  go  to 
the  older  and  more  populous  settlements,  remote  from 
danger.  There  was  at  that  time  a  large  party  of  Indians, 
encamped  on  both  sides  of  Yellow  creek,  at  its  entrance 
into  the  river;  and  although  in  their  intercourse  at 
Baker’s,  they  had  not  manifested  an  intention  of  speedily 
commencing  depredations,  yet  he  deemed  his  situation  in 
the  immediate  contiguity  of  them,  as  being  far  from  se¬ 
cure,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  abandoning  it,  when  a  party 
of  whites,  who  had  just  collected  at  his  house,  tired  upon 
and  killed  some  Indians,  who  were  likewise  there. — Among 
them  were  the  brother  and  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
chief,  Logan.2 

1  These  are  the  Pipe  Creek  and  Baker’s  Bottom  affairs,  respectively 
mentioned  on  pp.  134,  149,  notes .  Yellow  Creek,  opposite  Baker’s  Bot¬ 
tom,  empties  into  the  Ohio  51  miles  below  Pittsburg;  Wheeling  is  91 
miles  below  Pittsburg,  and  Pipe  Creek  104. — R.  G.  T. 

2  There  is  some  difficulty  in  fixing  on  the  precise  time  when  these 
occurrences  happened.  Col.  Ebenezer  Zane  says  that  they  took  place 
in  the  latter  part  of  April,  and  that  the  affair  at  Captina  preceded  the 
one  at  Yellow  creek  a  few  days.  John  Sappington,  who  was  of  the  party 
at  Baker’s,  and  is  said  to  be  the  one  who  killed  Logan’s  brother,  says, 
the  murders  at  that  place  occurred  on  the  24th  of  May,  and  that  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


149 


In  justification  of  this  conduct  it  has  been  said,  that 
on  the  preceding  evening  a  squaw  came  over  from  the  en¬ 
campment  and  informed  Mrs.  Baker  that  the  Indians 
meditated  the  murder  of  her  family  on  the  next  day;  and 
that  before  the  firing  [113]  at  Baker’s,  two  canoes,  con- 

skirmish  at  Captina  was  on  the  day  before  (23rd  May.)  Col.  Andrew 
Swearingen,  a  presbyterian  gentleman  of  much  respectability,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  near  the  Ohio  above  Wheeling,  and  afterwards  inti¬ 
mate  with  those  engaged  at  both  places,  says  that  the  disturbance  oppo¬ 
site  Yellow  creek  preceded  the  engagement  [113]  at  Captina,  and  that  the 
latter,  as  was  then  generally  understood,  was  caused  by  the  conduct  of 
the  Indians,  who  had  been  at  Yellow  creek  and  were  descending  the 
river,  exasperated  at  the  murder  of  their  friends  at  Baker’s.  Mr.  Ben¬ 
jamin  Tomlinson,  who  was  the  brother-in-law  of  Baker  and  living  with 
him  at  the  time,  says  that  this  circumstance  happened  in  May,  but  is 
silent  as  to  the  one  at  Captina.  These  gentlemen  all  agree  in  the  fact 
that  Logan’s  people  were  murdered  at  Baker’s.  Indeed  Logan  himself 
charges  it  as  having  been  done  there.  The  statement  of  Sappington, 
that  the  murders  were  caused  by  the  abusive  epithets  of  Logan’s 
brother  and  his  taking  the  hat  and  coat  of  Baker’s  brother  in  law  is 
confirmed  by  Col.  Swearingen  and  others ;  who  also  say  that  for  some 
days  previous,  the  neighborhood  generally  had  been  engaged  in  prepar¬ 
ing  to  leave  the  country,  in  consequence  of  the  menacing  conduct  of 
the  Indians. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — The  date  is  now  well  established — April  30. 
Withers  is  altogether  too  lenient,  in  his  treatment  of  the  whites  en¬ 
gaged  in  this  wretched  massacre.  Logan,  encamped  at  the  mouth  of 
Yellow  River,  on  the  Ohio  side,  was  a  peaceful,  inoffensive  Indian, 
against  whom  no  man  harbored  a  suspicion ;  he  was  made  a  victim  of 
race  hatred,  in  a  time  of  great  popular  excitement.  Joshua  Baker,  who 
was  settled  opposite  him  on  Baker’s  Bottom,  in  Virginia,  kept  a  low 
grog-shop  tavern,  and  had  recently  been  warned  not  to  sell  more  liquor 
to  Indians.  Daniel  Greathouse  lived  in  the  vicinity — a  cruel,  blood¬ 
thirsty  fellow,  who  served  Connolly  as  a  local  agent  in  fomenting  hatred 
of  Indians.  It  will  be  remembered  (p.  131,  note)  that  Cresap’s  party  were 
intending  to  strike  the  camp  of  Logan,  but  that  they  abandoned  the 
project.  In  the  meantime,  probably  without  knowledge  of  Cresap’s  in¬ 
tent,  Greathouse  had  collected  a  party  of  32  borderers  to  accomplish  the 
same  end.  Logan’s  camp  seemed  too  strong  for  them  to  attack  openly  ; 
so  they  secreted  themselves  in  Baker’s  house,  and  when  Logan’s  family, 
men  and  women,  came  over  to  get  their  daily  grog,  and  were  quite 
drunk,  set  upon  them  and  slew  and  tomahawked  nine  or  ten.  The 
chief,  standing  on  the  Ohio  bank,  heard  the  uproar  and  witnessed  the 
massacre;  he  naturally  supposed  that  the  murderers  were  led  by  Cresap. 
From  a  friend  of  the  whites,  Logan  became  their  implacable  enemy, 
and  during  the  ensuing  war  his  forays  were  the  bloodiest  on  the  bor¬ 
der.  We  shall  hear  of  him  and  his  famous  speech,  later  on. 


150 


Withers's  Chronicles 


taining  Indians  painted  and  armed  for  war,  were  seen  to 
leave  the  opposite  shore.  Under  these  circumstances,  an 
apparently  slight  provocation,  and  one,  which  would  not 
perhaps  have  been,  otherwise  heeded,  produced  the  fatal 
result.  As  the  canoes  approached  the  shore,  the  party 
from  Baker’s  commenced  firing  on  them,  and  notwith¬ 
standing  the  opposition  made  by  the  Indians,  forced  them 
to  retire. 

An  interval  of  quiet  succeeded  the  happening  of  these 
events;  but  it  was  as  the  solemn  stillness  which  precedes 
the  eruption  of  an  earthquake,  when  a  volcanic  explosion 
has  given  notice  of  its  approach; — rendered  more  awful 
by , the  uncertainty  where  its  desolating  influence  would 
be  felt.  It  was  however,  a  stillness  of  but  short  duration. 
The  gathering  storm  soon  burst  over  the  devoted  heads 
of  those,  who  had  neglected  to  seek  a  shelter  from  its 
wrath.  The  traders  in  the  Indian  country  were  the  first 
victims  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  savage  ferocity ;  and  a 
general  massacre  of  all  the  whites  found  among  them, 
quickly  followed.  A  young  man,  discovered  near  the  falls 
of  Muskingum  and  within  sight  of  White  Eyes  town,  was 
murdered,  scalped ;  literally  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  man¬ 
gled  members  of  his  body,  hung  up  on  trees.  White  Eyes, 
a  chief  of  the  friendly  Delawares,  hearing  the  scalp  halloo, 
went  out  with  a  party  of  his  men  ;  and  seeing  what  had 
been  done,  collected  the  scattered  limbs  of  the  young  man, 
and  buried  them.  On  the  next  day,  they  were  torn  from 
the  ground,  severed  into  smaller  pieces,  and  thrown  dis- 
persedly  at  greater  distances  from  each  other. 

[114]  Apprized  of  impending  danger,  many  of  the 
inhabitants  on  the  frontiers  of  North  Western  Virginia, 
retired  into  the  interior,  before  any  depredations  were 
committed,  in  the  upper  country  ;  some  took  refuge  in 
forts  which  had  been  previously  built ;  while  others,  col¬ 
lecting  together  at  particular  houses,  converted  them  into 
temporary  fortresses,  answering  well  the  purposes  of  pro¬ 
tection,  to  those  who  sought  shelter  in  them.  Fort  Bed¬ 
stone,  which  had  been  erected  after  the  successful  expedi¬ 
tion  of  General  Forbes  ;  and  Fort  Pitt,  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela  rivers,  afforded  an  asylum 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


151 


to  many.  Several  private  forts  were  likewise  established 
in  various  parts  of  the  country  ; 1  and  every  thing  which 
individual  exertion  could  effect,  to  ensure  protection  to  the 
border  inhabitants,  was  done. 

Nor  did  the  colonial  government  of  Virginia  neglect 
the  security  of  her  frontier  citizens.  When  intelligence 
of  the  hostile  disposition  of  the  Natives,  reached  Williams¬ 
burg,  the  house  of  Burgesses  was  in  session  ;  and  measures 
were  immediately  adopted,  to  prevent  massacres,  and  to 
restore  tranquillity.  That  these  objects  might  be  the 
more  certainly  accomplished,  it  was  proposed  by  General 
Andrew  Lewis  (then  a  delegate  from  Bottetourt,)  to  or¬ 
ganize  a  force,  sufficient  to  overcome  all  intermediate  op¬ 
position,  and  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy’s  country. 
In  accordance  to  this  proposition,  orders  were  issued  by 
Governor  Dunmore  for  raising  the  requisite  number  of 
troops,  and  for  making  other  necessary  preparations  for 
the  contemplated  campaign ;  the  plan  of  which  was  con¬ 
certed  by  the  Governor,  Gen.  Lewis  and  Colonel  Charles 
Lewis  (then  a  delegate  from  Augusta.)  But  as  some  time 
must  necessarily  have  elapsed  before  the  consummation  of 
the  preparations  which  were  being  made ;  and  as  much 
individual  suffering  might  result  from  the  delays  unavoid¬ 
ably  incident  to  the  raising,  equipping  and  [115]  organizing 
a  large  body  of  troops,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  take 
some  previous  and  immediate  step  to  prevent  the  invasion 
of  exposed  and  defenceless  portions  of  the  country. — The 
best  plan  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object  was  believed 
to  be,  the  sending  of  an  advance  army  into  the  Indian 
country,  of  sufficient  strength  to  act  offensively,  before  a 

confederacv  could  be  formed  of  the  different  tribes,  and 

*/  ' 

their  combined  forces  be  brought  into  the  field.  A  sense 

1  It  was  then  that  Westfall’s  and  Casinoe’s  forts  were  erected  in 
Tygart’s  valley, — Pricket’s,  on  Pricket’s  creek, — Jackson’s  on  Ten  Mile, 
and  Shepherd’s  on  Wheeling  creek,  a  few  miles  above  its  mouth.  There 
were  also  others  established  in  various  parts  of  the  country  and  on  the 
Monongahela  and  Ohio  rivers.  Nutter’s  fort,  near  to  Clarksburg, 
afforded  protection  to  the  inhabitants  on  the  West  Fork,  from  its  source, 
to  its  confluence  with  the  Valley  river;  and  to  those  who  lived  on 
Buchannon  and  on  Hacker’s  creek,  as  well  as  to  the  residents  of  its  im¬ 
mediate  vicinity. 


152 


Withers's  Chronicles 


of  the  exposed  situation  of  their  towns  in  the  presence  of 
an  hostile  army,  requiring  the  entire  strength  of  every 
village  for  its  defence,  would,  it  was  supposed,  call  home 
those  straggling  parties  of  warriors,  by  which  destruction 
is  so  certainly  dealt  to  the  helpless  and  unprotected.  In 
conformity  with  this  part  of  the  plan  of  operations,  four 
hundred  men,  to  be  detailed  from  the  militia  west  of  the 
mountains,  were  ordered  to  assemble  at  Wheeling  as  soon 
as  practicable.  And  in  the  mean  time,  lest  the  surveyors 
and  land  adventurers,  who  were  then  in  Kentucky,  might 
be  discovered  and  fall  a  prey  to  the  savages,  Daniel  Boone 
was  sent  by  the  Governor  to  the  falls  of  Ohio,  to  conduct 
them  home  from  thence,  through  the  wilderness;  the  only 
practicable  road  to  safety,  the  Ohio  river  being  so  effectu¬ 
ally  guarded  as  to  preclude  the  hope  of  escaping  up  it.1 

1  Jane  20,  Col.  William  Preston,  having  charge  of  the  defenses  of 
Fincastle  county,  authorized  Capt.  William  Russell  to  employ  two  faith¬ 
ful  woodsmen  to  go  to  Kentucky  and  inform  the  several  surveying  parties 
at  wrork  there,  of  their  danger.  June  26,  Russell  replied,  “I  have  en¬ 
gaged  to  start  immediately  on  the  occasion,  tw'O  of  the  best  hands  I 
could  think  of — Daniel  Boone  and  Michael  Stoner ;  who  have  engaged 
to  reach  the  country  as  low  as  the  Falls,  and  to  return  by  way  of  Gas¬ 
per’s  Lick  on  Cumberland,  and  through  Cumberland  Gap;  so  that,  by 
the  assiduity  of  these -men,  if  it  is  not  too  late,  I  hope  the  gentlemen 
will  be  apprized  of  the  imminent  danger  they  are  daily  in.” 

Boone  and  Stoner  journeyed  overland  to  Harrodsburg,  where  Col. 

*  James  Harrod  and  thirty  men  were  making  improvements  and  laying 

♦  out  the  towrn.  The  thrifty  Boone  secured  a  good  lot,  hastily  built  a 
claim  cabin,  and  proceeded  on  his  tour.  At  Fontaine  Blue,  three  miles 
below  Harrodsburg,  the  two  scouts  found  another  party  of  surveyors, 
whom  they  warned ;  and  in  going  dowrn  the  Kentucky  River  came  across 
Capt.  John  Floyd’s  surveying  party, — eight  men,  w’ho  had  left  Preston’s 
house  for  Kentucky,  April  9, — wrho  agreed  to  meet  them  farther  dowm 
the  river.  But  circumstances  prevented  a  reunion,  and  Floyd’s  band 
penetrated  through  the  wilderness  on  their  own  account,  and  had  a 
painful  journey  of  sixteen  days’  duration  before  reaching  Russell’s  Fort 
on  Clinch  River.  Meanwhile,  Boone  and  Stoner  descended  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kentucky,  and  thence  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  found  more 
surveyors  at  Mann’s  Lick,  four  miles  southeast.  Indians  were  making 
bloody  forays  through  the  district,  and  the  scouts  had  frequent  thrilling 
adventures.  Finally,  after  having  been  absent  sixtv-one  days  and  trav¬ 
elled  800  miles,  they  reached  Russell’s  on  the  Clinch,  in  safety.  Russell 
was  absent  on  the  Point  Pleasant  campaign,  and  Boone  set  out  with  a 
party  of  recruits  to  reinforce  him,  but  wras  ordered  back  to  defend  the 
Clinch  settlements.  He  wras  busy  at  this  task  until  the  close  of  the  wTar. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


153 


Early  in  June,  tlie  troops  destined  to  make  an  incur¬ 
sion  into  the  Indian  country,  assembled  at  "Wheeling,  and 
being  placed  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Angus  Mc¬ 
Donald,  descended  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  Captina. 
Debarking,  at  this  place,  from  their  boats  and  canoes,  they 
took  up  their  march  to  Wappatomica,  an  Indian  town 
on  the  Muskingum.  The  country  through  which  the  army 
had  to  pass,  was  one  unbroken  forest,  presenting  many  ob¬ 
stacles  to  its  speedy  advance,  not  the  least  of  which  was 
the  difficulty  of  proceeding  directly  to  the  point  proposed.* 1 
To  obviate  this,  however,  they  were  accompanied  by  three 
persons  in  the  capacity  of  guides;2  whose  knowledge  of 
the  woods,  and  familiarity  with  those  natural  indices,  which 
so  unerringly  mark  the  direction  of  the  principal  points, 
enabled  them  to  pursue  the  direct  course. — When  they  had 
approached  within  six  miles  of  the  town,  the  [116]  army 
encountered  an  opposition  from  a  party  of  fifty  or  sixty 
Indians  lying  in  ambush ;  and  before  these  could  be  dis¬ 
lodged,  two  whites  were  killed,  and  eight  or  ten  wounded ; — 
one  Indian  wTas  killed,  and  several  wounded.  They  then 
proceeded  to  "Wappatomica  without  further  molestation.3 

When  the  army  arrived  at  the  town,  it  was  found  to 
be  entirely  deserted.  Supposing  that  it  would  cross  the 
river,  the  Indians  had  retreated  to  the  opposite  bank,  and 
concealing  themselves  behind  trees  and  fallen  timber,  were 
awaiting  that  movement  in  joyful  anticipation  of  a  suc- 

He  was  present  at  the  Watauga  treaty,  March  17, 1775 ;  later  that  year,  he 
led  another  band  to  Kentucky,  and  early  in  April  built  Fort  Boone,  on 
Kentucky  River,  “a  little  below  Big  Lick,”  the  nucleus  of  the  Henderson 
colony. — R.  G.  T. 

1  The  party  numbered  about  four  hundred  men.  The  line  of  march 
was  about  ninety  miles  in  length,  as  estimated  by  the  zig-zag  course 
pursued. — R.  G.  T. 

2  They  were  Jonathan  Zane,  Thomas  Nicholson  and  Tady  Kelly.  A 
better  woodsman  than  the  first  named  of  these  three,  perhaps  never 
lived. 

3  Doddridge  locates  Wapatomica  “  about  sixteen  miles  below  the 
present  Coshocton.”  Butterfield  ( History  of  the  Girtys)  places  it  “just 
below  the  present  Zanesville,  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  not  a  great  distance 
from  Mac-a-cheek.”  For  localities  of  Indian  towns  on  the  Muskingum, 
see  map  in  St.  John  de  Creve  Coeur’s  Lettres  (Tun  Cultivateur  Americain 
(Paris,  1787),  III.,  p.  413— R.  G.  T. 


154 


Withers's  Chronicles 


cessful  surprise. — Their  own  anxiety  and  the  prudence 
of  the  commanding  officer,  however,  frustrated  that  ex¬ 
pectation.  Several  were  discovered  peeping  from  their 
covert,  watching  the  motion  of  the  army ;  and  Colonel 
McDonald,  suspecting  their  object,  and  apprehensive  that 
they  would  recross  the  river  and  attack  him  in  the  rear, 
stationed  videttes  above  and  below,  to  detect  any  such 
purpose,  and  to  apprise  him  of  the  first  movement  to¬ 
wards  effecting  it.  Foiled  by  these  prudent  and  precau¬ 
tionary  measures  and  seeing  their  town  in  possession  of 
the  enemy,  with  no  prospect  of  wresting  it  from  them, 
’till  destruction  would  have  done  its  work,  the  Indians 
sued  for  peace ;  and  the  commander  of  the  expedition 
consenting  to  negotiate  wfith  them,  if  he  could  be  assured 
of  their  sincerity,  five  chiefs  were  sent  over  as  hostages, 
and  the  army  then  crossed  the  river,  with  these  in  front. 

When  a  negotiation  was  begun,  the  Indians  asked, 
that  one  of  the  hostages  might  be  permitted  to  go  and 
convoke  the  other  chiefs,  whose  presence,  it  was  alleged, 
would  be  necessary  to  the  ratification  of  a  peace.  One 
was  accordingly  released;  and  not  returning  at  the  time 
specified,  another  was  then  sent,  who  in  like  manner  failed 
to  return.  Colonel  McDonald,  suspecting  some  treachery, 
marched  forward  to  the  next  town,  above  Wappatomica, 
where  another  slight  engagement  took  place,  in  which 
one  Indian  was  killed  and  one  white  man  wounded.  It 
was  then  ascertained,  that  the  time  which  should  have 
been  spent  in  collecting  the  other  chiefs,  preparatory  to 
negotiation,  had  been  employed  in  removing  their  old 
men,  their  women  and  children,  together  with  what  prop¬ 
erty  could  be  readily  taken  off*,  and  for  making  prepara¬ 
tions  for  a  combined  attack  on  the  Virginia  troops.  To 
punish  this  duplicity  and  to  render  peace  really  desirable, 
Col.  McDonald  burned  their  towns  and  destroyed  their 
crops;  [117]  and  being  then  in  want  of  provisions,  retraced 
his  steps  to  Wheeling,  taking  with  him  the  three  remain¬ 
ing  hostages,  who  were  then  sent  on  to  Williamsburg.1 

1  John  Hargus,  a  private  in  Capt.  Cresap’s  company,  while  stationed 
as  a  videttc  below  the  main  army,  observed  an  Indian  several  times 
raising  his  head  above  his  blind,  and  looking  over  the  river.  Charging 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


155 


The  inconvenience  of  supplying  provisions  to  an  army 
in  the  wilderness,  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  success  of 
expeditions  undertaken  against  the  Indians.  The  want 
of  roads,  at  that  early  period,  which  would  admit  of  trans¬ 
portation  in  wagons,  rendered  it  necessary  to  resort  to 
pack  horses;  and  such  was  at  times  the  difficulty  of  pro¬ 
curing  these,  that,  not  unfrequently,  each  soldier  had  to 
be  the  bearer  of  his  entire  stock  of  subsistence  for  the 
whole  campaign.  When  this  was  exhausted,  a  degree 
of  suffering  ensued,  often  attended  with  consequences 
fatal  to  individuals,  and  des  ruetive  to  the  objects  of  the 
expedition.  In  the  present  case,  the  army  being  without 
provisions  before  they  left  the  Indian  towns,  their  only 
sustenance  consisted  of  weeds,  an  ear  of  corn  each  day, 
and  occasionally,  a  small  quantity  of  venison  :  it  being  im¬ 
practicable  to  hunt  game  in  small  parties,  because  of  the 
vigilance  and  success  of  the  Indians,  in  watching  and  cut¬ 
ting  off*  detachments  of  this  kind,  before  they  could  ac¬ 
complish  their  purpose  and  regain  the  main  army. 

Ho  sooner  had  the  troops  retired  from  the  Indian 
country,  than  the  savages,  in  small  parties,  invaded  the 
settlements  in  different  directions,  seeking  opportunities 
of  gratifying  their  insatiable  thirst  for  blood.  And  al¬ 
though  the  precautions  which  had  been  taken,  lessened  the 
frequency  of  their  success,  yet  they  did  not  always  prevent 
it.  Persons  leaving  the  forts  on  any  occasion,  were  almost 
always  either  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity, — a  lot 
sometimes  worse  than  death  itself. 

Perhaps  the  first  of  these  incursions  into  Horth  West¬ 
ern  Virginia,  after  the  destruction  of  the  towns  on  the 
Muskingum,  was  that  made  by  a  party  of  eight  Indians, 
at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Cayuga  chief  Logan.* 1  This 

his  rifle  with  a  second  ball,  he  fired,  and  both  bullets  passed  through 
the  neck  of  the  Indian,  who  was  found  next  day  and  scalped  by 
Hargus. 

1  Logan  was  the  son  of  Shikellernus,  a  celebrated  chief  of  the  Cayuga 
nation,  who  dwelt  at  Shamokin,  and  always  attached  to  the  [118]  English, 
was  of  much  service  to  them  on  many  occasions.  After  the  close  of 
Dunmore’s  war,  Logan  became  gloomy  and  melancholy,  drank  freely 
and  manifested  symptoms  of  mental  derangement.  He  remained  some 
time  at  Detroit,  and  while  there,  his  conduct  and  expressions  evinced  a 


156 


Withers's  Chronicles 


very  celebrated  [118]  Indian  is  represented  as  having 
hitherto,  observed  towards  the  whites,  a  course  of  conduct 
by  no  means  in  accordance  with  the  malignity  and  stead¬ 
fast  implacability  which  influenced  his  red  brethren  gen¬ 
erally  ;  but  was,  on  the  contrary,  distinguished  by  a  sense 
of  humanity,  and  a  just  abhorrence  of  those  cruelties  so  fre¬ 
quently  inflicted  on  the  innocent  and  unoffending,  as  well 
as  upon  those  who  were  really  obnoxious  to  savage  enmity. 
Such  indeed  were  the  acts  of  beneficence  which  characterized 
him,  and  so  great  his  partiality  for  the  English,  that  the 
finger  of  his  brethren  would  point  to  his  cabin  as  the  res¬ 
idence  of  Logan,  “  the  friend  of  white  men.”  “  In  the 
course  of  the  French  war,  he  remained  at  home,  idle  and 
inactive;”  opposed  to  the  interference  of  his  nation,  “an 
advocate  for  peace.”  When  his  family  fell  before  the  fury 
of  exasperated  men,  he  felt  himself  impelled  to  avenge  their 
deaths;  and  exchanging  the  pipe  of  peace,  for  the  toma¬ 
hawk  of  war,  became  active  in  seeking  opportunities  to 
glut  his  vengeance.* 1  With  this  object  in  view,  at 
the  head  of  the  party  which  has  been  mentioned,  he 
traversed  the  county  from  the  Ohio  to  the  West  Fork, 
before  an  opportunity  was  presented  him  of  achieving  any 
mischief.  Their  distance  from  what  was  supposed  would 
be  the  theatre  of  war,  had  rendered  the  inhabitants  of  that 
section  of  country,  comparatively  inattentive  to  their 
safety.  Relying  on  the  expectation  that  the  first  blow 
would  be  struck  on  the  Ohio,  and  that  they  would  have 
sufficient  notice  of  this  to  prepare  for  their  own  security, 
before  danger  could  reach  them,  many  had  continued  to 
perform  the  ordinary  business  of  their  farms. 

On  the  12th  day  of  July,  as  William  Robinson,  Thomas 
Hellen  and  Coleman  Brown  were  pulling  flax  in  a  field  op¬ 
posite  the  mouth  of  Simpson’s  creek,  Logan  and  his  party 
approached  unperceived  and  fired  at  them.  Brown  fell 

weariness  of  the  world.  Life  he  said  had  become  a  burden  to  him, 
he  knew  no  more  what  pleasure  was,  and  thought  it  had  been  better 
if  he  had  never  existed.  In  this  disponding  and  disconsolate  condition 
he  left  Detroit,  and  on  his  way  between  that  place  and  Miami,  is  said 
to  have  been  murdered. 

1  See  p.  149,  note ,  for  account  of  the  massacre. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


157 


instantly;  his  body  perforated  by  several  balls;  and  Ilellen 
and  Robinson  [119]  unscathed,  sought  safety  in  flight. 
Ilellen  being  then  an  old  man,  was  soon  overtaken  and 
made  captive;  but  Robinson,  with  the  elasticity  of  youth, 
ran  a  considerable  distance  before  he  was  taken ;  and  but 
for  an  untoward  accident  might  have  effected  an  escape. 
Believing  that  be  was  outstripping  his  pursuers,  and 
anxious  to  ascertain  the  fact,  he  looked  over  his  shoulder^ 
hut  before  he  discovered  the  Indian  giving  chase,  he  ran 
with  such  violence  against  a  tree,  that  he  fell,  stunned  by 
the  shock  and  lay  powerless  and  insensible.  In  this  situ¬ 
ation  he  was  secured  with  a  cord ;  and  when  he  revived,, 
was  taken  back  to  the  place  where  the  Indians  had  Hellen 
in  confinement,  and  where  lay  the  lifeless  body  of  Brown. 
They  then  set  off  to  their  towns,  taking  with  them  a  horse 
which  belonged  to  Hellen. 

When  they  had  approached  near  enough  to  be  dis¬ 
tinctly  heard,  Logan  (as  is  usual  with  them  after  a  suc¬ 
cessful  scout,)  gave  the  scalp  halloo,  and  several  warriors 
came  out  to  meet  them,  and  conducted  the  prisoners  into 
the  village.  Here  they  passed  through  the  accustomed 
ceremony  of  running  the  guantlet ;  but  with  far  different 
fortunes.  Robinson,  having  been  previously  instructed  by 
Logan  (who  from  the  time  he  made  him  his  prisoner,  mani¬ 
fested  a  kindly  feeling  towards  him,)  made  his  way,  with 
hut  little  interruption,  to  the  council  house ;  but  poor  Hel¬ 
len,  from  the  decrepitude  of  age,  and  his  ignorance  of 
the  fact  that  it  was  a  place  of  refuge,  was  sadly  beaten 
before  he  arrived  at  it ;  and  when  he  at  length  came  near 
enough,  he  was  knocked  down  with  a  war  club,  before  he 
could  enter.  After  he  had  fallen,  they  continued  to  beat 
and  strike  him  with  such  unmerciful  severity,  that  he 
would  assuredly  have  fallen  a  victim  to  their  barbarous 
usage,  hut  that  Robinson  (at  some  peril  for  the  interference) 
reached  forth  his  hand  and  drew  him  within  the  sanctuary. 
When  he  had  however,  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
violent  beating  which  he  had  received,  he  was  relieved 
from  the  apprehension  of  farther  suffering,  by  being 
adopted  into  an  Indian  family. 

A  council  was  next  convoked  to  resolve  on  the  fate 


158 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


of  Robinson;  and  then  arose  in  his  breast,  feelings  of  the 
most  anxious  inquietude.  Logan  assured  him,  that  be 
should  not  be  killed;  but  the  council  appeared  determined 
that  he  should  die,  and  he  was  tied  to  the  stake.  Logan 
then  addressed  them,  and  with  much  vehemence,  insisted 
that  Robinson  too  should  be  spared;  and  had  the  elo¬ 
quence  displayed  on  that  occasion  been  less  than  Logan  is 
believed  to  have  possessed,  [120]  it  is  by  no  means  won¬ 
derful  that  he  appeared  to  Robinson  (as  he  afterwards 
said)  the  most  powerful  orator  be  ever  heard.  But  com¬ 
manding  as  his  eloquence  might  have  been,  it  seems  not 
to  have  prevailed  with  the  council ;  for  Logan  had  to  in¬ 
terpose  otherwise  than  by  argument  or  entreaty,  to  succeed 
in  the  attainment  of  his  object.  Enraged  at  the  perti¬ 
nacity  with  which  the  life  of  Robinson  was  sought  to  be 
taken,  and  reckless  of  the  consequences,  he  drew  the  tom¬ 
ahawk  from  his  belt,  and  severing  the  cords  which  bound 
the  devoted  victim  to  the  stake,  led  him  in  triumph,  to 
the  cabin  of  an  old  squaw,  by  whom  he  was  immediately 
adopted. 

After  this,  so  long  as  Logan  remained  in  the  town 
where  Robinson  was,  he  was  kind  and  attentive  to  him ; 
and  when  preparing  to  go  again  to  war,  got  him  to  write 
the  letter  which  was  afterwards  found  on  Holstein  at  the 
house  of  a  Mr.  Robertson,  whose  family  were  all  mur¬ 
dered  by  the  Indians.  Robinson  remained  with  his  adopted 
mother,  until  he  was  redeemed  under  the  treaty  concluded 
at  the  close  of  the  Dunmore  campaign. 


Of  Border  Warfare , 


159 


[121]  CHAPTER  VII. 

When  information  of  the  hostile  deportment  of  the 
Indians  was  carried  to  Williamsburg,  Col.  Charles  Lewis 
sent  a  messenger  with  the  intelligence  to  Capt.  John 
Stuart,  and  requesting  of  him,  to  apprize  the  inhabitants 
on  the  Greenbrier  river  that  an  immediate  war  was  an¬ 
ticipated,  and  to  send  out  scouts  to  watch  the  warrior’s 
paths  beyond  the  settlements.  The  vigilance  and  activity 
of  Capt.  Stuart,  were  exerted  with  some  success,  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  re-exhibition  of  those  scenes  which  had  been 
previously  witnessed  on  Muddy  creek  and  in  the  Big 
Levels :  but  they  could  not  avail  to  repress  them  alto- 

In  the  course  of  the  preceding  spring,  some  few  indi¬ 
viduals  had  begun  to  make  improvements  on  the  Kenhawa 
river  below  the  Great  Falls ;  and  some  land  adventurers, 
to  examine  and  survey  portions  of  the  adjoining  country. 
To  these  men  Capt.  Stuart  despatched  an  express,  to  in¬ 
form  them  that  apprehensions  wTere  entertained  of  im¬ 
mediate  irruptions  being  made  upon  the  frontiers  by  the 
Indians,  and  advising  them  to  remove  from  the  position 
which  they  then  occupied ;  as  from  its  exposed  situation, 
without  great  vigilance  and  alertness,  they  must  necessarily 
fall  a  prey  to  the  savages. 

When  the  express  arrived  at  the  cabin  of  Walter 
Kelly,  twelve  miles  below  the  falls,  Capt.  John  Field  of 
Culpepper  (who  had  been  in  active  service  during  the 
French  war,  and  was  then  engaged  in  making  surveys,) 
was  there  with  a  young  Scotchman  and  a  negro  woman. 
Kelly  with  great  prudence,  directly  sent  his  family  to 
Greenbrier,  under  the  care  of  a  younger  brother*  But 
Capt.  Field,  considering  the  apprehension  as  groundless, 
determined  on  remaining  with  Kelly,  who  from  prudential 
motives  did  not  wish  to  subject  himself  to  observation  by 


160 


Withers's  Chronicles 


mingling  with  others.1  Left  with  no  persons  hut  the 
Scotchman  and  negro,  they  were  not  long  permitted  to 
doubt  the  reality  of  those  dangers,  of  which  they  had  been 
forewarned  by  Capt  Stuart. 

[122]  Very  soon  after  Kelly’s  family  had  left  the  cabin, 
and  while  yet  writhin  hearing  of  it,  a  party  of  Indians  ap¬ 
proached,  unperceived,  near  to  Kelly  and  Field,  who  were 
engaged  in  drawing  leather  from  a  tan  trough  in  the  yard. 
The  first  intimation  which  Field  had  of  their  approach 
was  the  discharge  of  several  guns  and  the  fall  of  Kelly, 
lie  then  ran  briskly  towards  the  house  to  get  possession 
of  a  gun,  but  recollecting  that  it  was  unloaded,  he  changed 
his  course,  and  sprang  into  a  cornfield  which  screened  him 
from  the  observation  of  the  Indians ;  who,  supposing  that 
he  had  taken  shelter  in  the  cabin,  rushed  immediately  into 
it.  Here  they  found  the  Scotchman  and  the  negro  woman, 
the  latter  of  whom  they  killed;  and  making  prisoner  of 
the  young  man,  returned  and  scalped  Kelly. 

When  Kelly’s  family  reached  the  Greenbrier  settle¬ 
ment,  they  mentioned  their  fears  for  the  fate  of  those 
whom  they  had  left  on  the  Kenhawa,  not  doubting  but 
that  the  guns  which  they  heard  soon  after  leaving  the 
house,  had  been  dischaaged  at  them  by  Indians.  Capt. 
Stuart,  with  a  promptitude  which  must  ever  command  ad¬ 
miration,  exerted  himself  effectually  to  raise  a  volunteer 
corps,  and  proceed  to  the  scene  of  action,  with  the  view 
of  ascertaining  whether  the  Indians  had  been  there;  and 
if  they  had,  and  he  could  meet  with  them,  to  endeavor  to 
punish  them  for  the  outrage,  and  thus  prevent  the  repeti¬ 
tion  of  similar  deeds  of  violence. 

They  had  not  however  gone  far,  before  they  were  met 
by  Capt.  Field,  whose  appearance  of  itself  fully  told  the 
tale  of  woe.  He  had  ran  upwards  of  eighty  miles,  naked 
except  his  shirt,  and  without  food;  his  body  nearly  ex¬ 
hausted  by  fatigue,  anxiety  and  hunger,  and  his  limbs 
greviously  lacerated  with  briers  and  brush.  Captain 

1  He  is  said  to  have  committed  some  offence,  in  the  upper  part  of 
South  Carolina,  which  rendered  him  obnoxious  to  the  laws  of  that 
colony,  and  to  evade  the  punishment  for  which,  he  had  fled  to  the 
wilderness  and  taken  up  his  abode  in  it. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


161 


Stuart,  fearing  lest  the  success  of  the  Indians  might  in¬ 
duce  them  to  push  immediately  for  the  settlements, 
thought  proper  to  return  and  prepare  for  that  event. 

In  a  few  weeks  after  this  another  party  of  Indians 
came  to  the  settlement  on  Muddy  creek,  and  as  if  a  cer¬ 
tain  fatality  attended  the  Kelly’s,  they  alone  fell  victims 
to  the  incursion.  As  the  daughter  of  Walter  Kelly  was 
walking  with  her  uncle  (who  had  conducted  the  family 
from  the  Kenhawa)  some  distance  from  the  house,  which 
had  been  converted  into  a  temporary  fort,  and  in  which 
they  lived,  they  were  discovered  and  fired  upon  ;  the  latter 
was  killed  and  scalped,  and  the  former  being  overtaken  in 
her  flight,  was  carried  into  captivity. 

After  the  murder  of  Brown,  and  the  taking  of  Iiellen 
and  Robinson,  the  inhabitants  on  the  Monongahela  and 
its  upper  branches,  alarmed  for  their  safety,  retired  into 
forts.  But  in  the  ensuing  September,  as  Josiah  Pricket 
and  Mrs.  Susan  Ox,  who  had  left  Pricket’s  fort  for  the 
purpose  of  driving  up  their  cows,  were  returning  in  the 
evening  they  were  way  laid  by  a  party  of  Indians,  who 
had  been  drawn  to  the  path  by  the  tinkling  of  the  cow¬ 
bell.  Pricket  was  killed  and  scalped,  and  Mrs.  Ox  taken 
prisoner. 

[123]  It  was  in  the  course  of  this  season,  that  Lewis 
Wetsel1  first  gave  promise  of  that  daring  and  discretion, 
which  were  so  fully  developed  in  his  maturer  years,  and 
which  rendered  him  among  the  most  fortunate  and  suc¬ 
cessful  of  Indian  combatants.  When  about  fourteen  years 
old,  he  and  his  brother  Jacob,  (still  younger)  were  discov- 

1  Lewis  Wetzel,  the  son  of  a  German  settler  on  Wheeling  Creek,  some 
fourteen  miles  above  its  mouth,  wTasborn  about  1764.  He  and  his  broth¬ 
ers  Martin,  Jacob,  John,  and  George  became  famous  in  border  warfare 
after  the  close  of  the  Revolution;  the  annals  of  the  frontier  abound  in 
tales  of  their  hardy  achievements.  Martin  and  Lewis  wrere  the  heroes 
of  most  remarkable  escapes  from  Indian  captivity;  John  was  also  famous 
as  an  Indian  fighter;  and  Jacob’s  name  will  ever  be  connected  with  the 
exploits  of  that  other  great  border  scout,  Simon  Kenton.  But  of  all  the 
brothers,  Lewis  achieved  the  widest  celebrity,  and  twTo  biographies  of 
him  have  been  published:  by  Cecil  B.  Hartley  (Phila.,  1860),  and  by 
R.  C.  V.  Meyers  (Phila.,  1883).— R.  G.  T. 

11 


162 


Withers's  Chronicles 


ered  some  distance  from  the  house,  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
who  had  been  prowling  through  the  settlements  on  the 
Ohio  river,  with  the  expectation  of  fortunately  meeting 
with  some  opportunity  of  taking  scalps  or  making  prison¬ 
ers.  As  the  boys  were  at  some  distance  from  them,  and  in 
a  situation  too  open  to  admit  of  their  being  approached 
without  perceiving  those  who  should  advance  towards 
them,  the  Indians  determined  on  shooting  the  larger  one, 
lest  his  greater  activity  might  enable  him  to  escape.  A 
shot  was  accordingly  discharged  at  him,  which,  partially 
taking  effect  and  removing  a  portion  of  his  breast  bone,  so 
far  deprived  him  of  his  wonted  powers,  that  he  was  easily 
overtaken;  and  both  he  and  his  brother  were  made  pris¬ 
oners.  The  Indians  immediately  directed  their  steps 
towards  their  towns,  and  having  travelled  about  twenty 
miles  beyond  the  Ohio  river,  encamped  at  the  Big  Lick, 
on  the  waters  of  McMahon’s  creek,  on  the  second  night 
after  they  had  set  off.  When  they  had  finished  eating, 
the  Indians  laid  down,  without  confining  the  boys  as  on 
the  preceding  night,  and  soon  fell  to  sleep.  After  making 
some  little  movements  to  test  the  soundness  of  their  repose, 
Lewis  whispered  to  his  brother  that  he  must  get  up  and  go 
home  with  him ;  and  after  some  hesitation  on  the  part  of 
Jacob,  they  arose  and  set  off.  Upon  getting  about  100 
yards  from  the  camp,  Lewis  stopped,  and  telling  his 
brother  to  await  there,  returned  to  the  camp  and  brought 
from  thence  a  pair  of  mocasons  for  each  of  them.  He  then 
observed,  that  he  would  again  go  back  and  get  his  father’s 
gun ;  this  he  soon  effected,  and  they  then  commenced  their 
journey  home.  The  moon  shining  brightly,  they  were 
easily  able  to  distinguish  the  trail  which  they  had  made  in 
going  out ;  but  had  not  however  pursued  it  far,  before  they 
heard  the  Indians  coming  in  pursuit  of  them.  So  soon  as 
Lewis  perceived  by  the  sound  of  their  voices  that  they 
were  approaching  tolerably  near  to  them,  he  led  his  brother 
aside  from  the  path,  and  squatting  down,  concealed  them¬ 
selves ’till  their  pursuers  had  passed  them;  when  they 
again  commenced  travelling  and  in  the  rear  of  the  Indians. 
Not  overtaking  the  boys  as  soon  as  was  expected,  those 
who  had  been  sent  after  them,  began  to  retrace  their  steps. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


163 


Expecting  this,  the  boys  were  watchful  of  every  noise  or 
object  before  them,  and  when  they  heard  the  Indians  re¬ 
turning,  again  secreted  themselves  in  the  bushes,  and 
escaped  observation.  They  were  then  followed  by  two,  of 
the  party  who  had  made  them  prisoners,  on  horseback ; 
but  by  practising  the  same  stratagem,  they  eluded  them 
also ;  and  on  the  next  day  reached  the  Ohio  river  opposite 
to  Wheeling.  Apprehensive  that  it  would  be  dangerous 
to  apprize  those  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  of  their 
situation,  by  hallooing,  Lewis  set  himself  to  work  as 
silently,  and  yet  as  expeditiously  [124]  as  possible,  and  with 
the  aid  of  his  little  brother,  soon  completed  a  raft  on  which 
they  safely  crossed  the  Ohio;  and  made  their  way  home. 

That  persons,  should,  by  going  out  from  the  forts, 
when  the  Indians  were  so  generally  watching  around  them, 
expose  themselves  to  captivity  or  death,  may  at  first  appear 
strange  and  astonishing.  But  when  the  mind  reflects  on 
the  tedious  and  irksome  confinement,  which  they  were 
compelled  to  undergo;  the  absence  of  the  comforts,  and 
frequently,  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  coupled  with  an 
overweening  attachment  to  the  enjoyment  of  forest 
scenes  and  forest  pastimes,  it  will  perhaps  be  matter 
of  greater  astonishment  that  they  did  not  more  fre¬ 
quently  forego  the  security  of  a  fortress,  for  the  uncer¬ 
tain  enjoyment  of  those  comforts  and  necessaries,  and 
the  doubtful  gratification  of  this  attachment.  Accus¬ 
tomed  as  they  had  been  “  free  to  come  and  free  to  go,” 
they  could  not  brook  the  restraint  under  which  they 
were  placed;  and  rather  than  chafe  and  pine  in  unwilling 
confinement,  would  put  themselves  at  hazard,  that  they 
might  revel  at  large  and  wanton  in  the  wilderness.  De¬ 
riving  their  sustenance  chiefly  from  the  woods,  the  strong 
arm  of  necessity  led  many  to  tempt  the  perils  which  envi¬ 
roned  them ;  while  to  the  more  chivalric  and  adventurous 
“  the  danger’s  self  were  lure  alone.”  The  quiet  and  still¬ 
ness  which  reigned  around,  even  when  the  enemy  were 
lurking  nearest  and  in  greater  numbers,  inspired  many 
too,  with  the  delusive  hope  of  exemption  from  risk,  not 
unfrequently  the  harbinger  of  fatal  consequences.  It 
seemed  indeed,  impracticable  at  first  to  realize  the  exist- 


164 


Withers's  Chronicles 


ence  of  a  danger,  which  could  not  be  perceived.  And  not 
until  taught  by  reiterated  suffering  did  they  properly  ap¬ 
preciate  the  perilous  situation  of  those,  who  ventured 
beyond  the  walls  of  their  forts.  But  this  state  of  things 
was  of  short  duration.  The  preparations,  which  were  nec¬ 
essary  to  he  made  for  the  projected  campaign  into  the  In¬ 
dian  country,  were  completed ;  and  to  resist  this  threatened 
invasion,  required  the  concentrated  exertions  of  all  their 
warriors. 

The  army  destined  for  this  expedition,  was  composed 
of  volunteers  and  militia,  chiefly  from  the  counties  west 
of  the  Blue  ridge,  and  consisted  of  two  divisions.  The 
northern  division,  comprehending  the  troops,  collected  in 
Frederick,  Dunmore,1  and  the  adjacent  counties,  wras  to  be 
commanded  by  Lord  Dunmore,  in  person;2  and  the  south¬ 
ern,  comprising  the  different  companies  raised  in  Bote¬ 
tourt,  Augusta  and  the  adjoining  counties  east  of  the  Blue 
ridge,  was  to  be  led  on  by  Gen.  Andrew  Lewis.  These 
two  divisions,  proceeding  by  different  routes,  were  to  form 
a  junction  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kenhawa,  and  from 
thence  penetrate  the  country  north  west  of  the  Ohio  river, 
as  far  as  the  season  would  admit  of  their  going;  and  de¬ 
stroy  all  the  Indian  towns  and  villages  which  they  could 
reach. 

About  the  first  of  September,  the  troops  placed  under 
the  command  [125]  of  Gen.  Lewis  rendezvoused  at  Camp 
Union  (now  Lewisburg)  and  consisted  of  two  regiments, 
commanded  by  Col.  William  Fleming  of  Botetourt  and 
Col.  Charles  Lewis  of  Augusta,  and  containing  about  four 
hundred  men  each.  At  Camp  Union  they  were  joined  by 
an  independent  volunteer  company  under  Col.  John  Field 
of  Culpepper;  a  company  from  Bedford  under  Capt.  Bu- 


1  Now  Shenandoah. 

2  The  northern  wing  was  composed  of  men  from  Frederick,  Berke¬ 
ley,  and  Dunmore  (afterwards  Shenandoah)  counties,  and  Col.  Adam 
Stephen  was  placed  in  command.  With  this  wing  went  Lord  Dunmore 
and  Major  John  Connolly.  Counting  the  forces  already  in  the  field  un¬ 
der  Maj.  Angus  McDonald  and  Capt.  William  Crawford,  this  levy  num¬ 
bered  some  twelve  hundred  men.  Among  them,  as  scouts,  were  George 
Roger  Clark,  Simon  Kenton,  and  Michael  Cresap. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


165 


ford  and  two  from  the  Holstein  settlement  (now  Wash¬ 
ington  county)  under  Capts.  Evan  Shelby  and  Harbert. 
These  three  latter  companies  were  part  of  the  forces  to 
he  led  on  by  Col.  Christian,  who  was  likewise  to  join  the 
two  main  divisions  of  the  army  at  Point  Pleasant,  so  soon 
as  the  other  companies  of  his  regiment  could  be  assembled. 
The  force  under  Gen.  Lewis,  having  been  thus  augmented 
to  eleven  hundred  men,  commenced  its  march  for  the 
mouth  of  Kenhawa  on  the  11th  of  September  1774.1 

From  Camp  Union  to  the  point  proposed  for  the  junc¬ 
tion  of  the  northern  and  southern  divisions  of  the  army, 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  the  intermedi¬ 
ate  country  was  a  trackless  forest,  so  rugged  and  moun¬ 
tainous  as  to  render  the  progress  of  the  army,  at  once, 
tedious  and  laborious.  Under  the  guidance  of  Capt.  Mat¬ 
thew  Arbuckle,  they  however,  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
Ohio  river  after  a  march  of  nineteen  days ;  and  fixed  their 
encampment  on  the  point  of  land  immediately  between 
that  river  and  the  Big  Kenhawa.2  The  provisions  and 
ammunition,  transported  on  packhorses,  and  the  beeves  in 
droves,  arrived  soon  after. 

When  the  army  was  preparing  to  leave  Camp  Union, 
there  was  for  a  while  some  reluctance  manifested  on  the 

1  Lewis  was  colonel  of  the  militia  of  Botetourt  county.  Camp 
Union  (so  called  because  several  bodies  of  troops  met  there)  was  on  the 
Big  Savannah  or  Great  Levels  of  Greenbrier  River  ;  the  town  of  Lewis- 
burg  now  occupies  the  site. 

In  Dunmore’s  letter  to  Andrew  Lewis,  dated  July  12,  he  directed 
him  to  raise  a  sufficient  body  of  men,  and  proceeding  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Kanawha  there  erect  a  fort;  if  he  deemed  best  he  was  to  cross 
the  Ohio,  proceed  directly  to  the  Indian  towns,  and  destroy  their  crops 
and  supplies;  in  any  event  he  was  to  keep  communication  open  between 
Fort  Wheeling  and  Fort  Dunmore  (Pittsburg).  It  is  evident  that  his 
lordship  then  contemplated  no  separate  expedition  of  his  own,  for  he 
talks  of  sending  Major  Angus  McDonald’s  party  and  a  new  levy  to  Lewis’s 
assistance.  But  he  changed  his  mind,  and  August  30  wrote  to  Lewis 
directing  that  the  latter  meet  him  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Kanawha. 
Lewis  replied  through  Col.  William  Preston  that  it  was  now  too  late  to 
change  his  plans;  he  should  proceed  at  once  with  the  levy  just  sum¬ 
moned,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  and  there  await  further 
orders. — R.  G.  T. 

2  This  cape  wras  called  Point  Pleasant,  and  is  now  occupied  by  the 
West  Virginia  town  of  that  name. — R.  G.  T. 


166 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


part  of  Col.  Field  to  submit  to  the  command  of  Gen.  Lewis. 
This  proceeded  from  the  fact,  that  in  a  former  military 
service,  he  had  been  the  senior  of  Gen.  Lewis;  and  from 
the  circumstance  that  the  company  led  on  by  him  were  In¬ 
dependent  Volunteers,  not  raised  in  pursuance  of  the  or¬ 
ders  of  Governor  Dunmore,  but  brought  into  the  field  by 
his  own  exertions,  after  his  escape  from  the  Indians  at 
Kelly’s.  These  circumstances  induced  him  to  separate 
his  men  from  the  main  body  of  the  army  on  its  march,  and 
to  take  a  different  way  from  the  one  pursued  by  it, — de¬ 
pending  on  his  own  knowledge  of  the  country  to  lead 
them  a  practicable  route  to  the  river.1 

While  thus  detached  from  the  forces  under  Gen. 
Lewis,  two  of  his  men  (Clay  and  Coward)  who  were  out 
hunting  and  at  some  little  distance  from  each  other,  came 
near  to  where  two  Indians  were  concealed.  Seeing  Clay 
only,  and  supposing  him  to  be  alone,  one  of  them  fired  at 
him ;  and  running  up  to  scalp  him  as  he  fell,  was  himself 
shot  by  Coward,  who  was  then  about  100  yards  off*.  The 
other  Indian  ran  off  unarmed,  and  made  his  escape.  A 
bundle  of  ropes  found  where  Clay  was  killed,  induced  the 
belief  that  it  was  the  object  of  these  Indians  to  steal 
horses ; — it  is  not  however  improbable,  that  they  had  been 
observing  the  progress  of  the  army,  and  endeavoring  to 
ascertain  its  numbers.  Col.  Field,  fearing  that  he  might 
[126]  encounter  a  party  of  the  enemy  in  ambush,  re¬ 
doubled  his  vigilance  ’till  he  again  joined  General  Lewis; 
and  the  utmost  concert  and  harmony  then  prevailed  in  the 
whole  army.2 

When  the  Southern  division  arrived  at  Point  Pleas¬ 
ant,  Governor  Dunmore  with  the  forces  under  his  com- 

1  This  is  misleading.  On  September  6,  Col.  Charles  Lewis,  with  his 
Augusta  troops,  numbering  about  six  hundred,  were  detached  to  proceed 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Elk,  and  there  make  canoes  for  transporting  the 
supplies  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha.  This  body  had  in  charge 
a  drove  of  108  beef  cattle,  and  400  pack-horses  laden  with  54,000  lbs.  of 
flour.  Field’s  company  soon  followed  this  advance. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Saturday,  the  10th,  Clay  and  Coward  were  sent  out  to  hunt  deer 
for  Field’s  company,  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Meadow.  Then  occurred 
the  incident  related  by  Withers.  The  Indian  who  escaped,  hurried  on 
to  the  Shawnee  towns  and  gave  them  their  first  notice  of  the  approach  of 


167 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

mand,  had  not  reached  there;  and  unable  to  account  for 
his  failure  to  form  the  preconcerted  junction  at  that  place, 
it  was  deemed  advisable  to  await  that  event;  as  by  so 
doing,  a  better  opportunity  would  be  afforded  to  Col. 
Christian  of  coming  up,  with  that  portion  of  the  army, 
which  was  then  with  him.* 1  Meanwhile  General  Lewis,  to 
learn  the  cause  of  the  delay  of  the  Northern  division,  de¬ 
spatched  runners  by  land,  in  the  direction  of  Fort  Pitt,  to 
obtain  tidings  of  Lord  Dunmore,  and  to  communicate 
them  to  him  immediately.  In  their  absence,  however,  ad¬ 
vices  were  received  from  his  Lordship,  that  he  had  deter¬ 
mined  on  proceeding  across  the  country,  directly  to  the 
Shawanee  towns;  and  ordering  General  Lewis  to  cross  the 
river,  march  forward  and  form  a  junction  with  him,  near 
to  them.  These  advices  were  received  on  the  9th  of  Octo¬ 
ber,  and  preparations  were  immediately  begun  to  be  made 
for  the  transportation  of  the  troops  over  the  Ohio  river.2 

the  army.  Alarmed  at  this  incident,  Field  hurried  and  caught  up  with 
the  advance  under  Charles  Lewis.  The  text  reads  as  though  he  had 
hastened  back  to  Andrew  Lewis,  who  had  not  yet  left  Camp  Union. — - 
R.  G.T. 

1  Col.  Andrew  Lewis  marched  out  of  Camp  Union  the  12th,  with 
about  450  men.  These  consisted  of  Fleming’s  Botetourt  troops,  three 
companies  of  Fincastle  men  under  Capts.  Evan  Shelby,  William  Her¬ 
bert,  and  William  Russell,  the  Bedford  men  under  Thomas  Buford,  and 
Dunmore  men  under  Slaughter.  They  had  with  them  200  pack-horses 
laden  with  flour,  and  the  remainder  of  the  beeves.  Col.  William 
Christian,  who  arrived  at  Camp  Union  the  day  Andrew  Lewis  left,  was 
ordered,  with  the  rest  of  the  Fincastle  men,  to  remain  there,  to  guard 
the  residue  of  the  provisions,  and  when  the  brigade  of  horses  sent  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Elk  had  returned,  to  hurry  every  thing  forward  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha.  Five  weeks  were  thus  consumed 
in  transporting  the  troops  and  the  supplies  a  distance  of  160  miles 
through  the  tangled  forest,  to  Point  Pleasant,  where  the  main  army, 
upwards  of  1,100  strong,  had  arrived,  quite  spent  with  exertions,  on  the 
6th  of  October. 

When  Christian  left  Camp  Union  for  the  front,  Anthony  Bledsoe, 
with  a  company  of  Fincastle  men,  was  detailed  to  remain  behind  with 
the  sick,  while  the  base  of  supplies  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elk  was  placed 
in  charge  of  Slaughter.  As  will  be  seen,  Christian  arrived  too  late  to 
engage  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant. — R.  G.  T. 

1  When  Lewis  arrived  at  Point  Pleasant  (October  6th),  he  found 
awaiting  him  in  a  hollow  tree  dispatches  from  Dunmore,  brought  by 
Simon  Kenton  and  two  companions,  directing  him  to  join  his  lordship 


1G8 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Early  on  the  morning  of  Monday  the  tenth  of  that 
month,  two  soldiers *  1  left  the  camp,  and  proceeded  up  the 
Ohio  river,  in  quest  of  deer.  When  they  had  progressed 
about  two  miles,  they  unexpectedly  came  in  sight  of  a 
large  number  of  Indians,  rising  from  their  encampment, 
and  who  discovering  the  two  hunters  fired  upon  them  and 
killed  one; — the  other  escaped  unhurt,  and  running  briskly 
to  the  camp,  communicated  the  intelligence,  “  that  he  had 
seen  a  body  of  the  enemy,  covering  four  acres  of  ground 
as  closely  as  they  could  stand  by  the  side  of  each  other.” 
The  main  part  of  the  army  was  immediately  ordered  out 
under  Colonels  Charles  Lewis,2  and  William  Fleming;  and 
having  formed  into  two  lines,  [127]  they  proceeded  about 
four  hundred  yards,  when  they  met  the  Indians,  and  the 
action  commenced. 


at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Hockhocking,  where  the  governor’s  northern 
wing,  under  Major  Crawford,  was  building  a  stockade.  But  Lewis’s 
men  were  spent,  and  pens  had  to  be  built  for  the  cattle,  and  shelter  for 
the  stores,  so  no  move  was  made.  On  Saturday,  the  8th,  came  a  further 
message  from  the  governor,  who  was  still  at  the  Big  Hockhocking. 
Lewis  replied  that  he  would  join  him  there  as  soon  as  the  troops,  food 
supply,  and  powder  had  all  reached  Point  Pleasant.  His  men  were 
angry  at  Dunmore’s  interference,  and  argued  with  Lewis  that  it  was 
sixty  miles  by  river  and  over  half  that  by  land,  to  Dunmore’s  camp, 
whereas  it  was  less  than  either  to  the  hostile  towns  which  they  had 
started  out  to  attack ;  and  to  turn  aside  from  this  purpose  was  to  leave 
open  for  the  hostiles  the  back-door  to  the  frontier  settlements  of  Vir¬ 
ginia.  The  9th  was  Sunday,  and  these  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  Presbyteri¬ 
ans  spent  the  day  in  religious  exercises,  listening  to  a  stout  sermon  from 
their  chaplain.  On  the  morrow,  they  were  surprised  by  the  Indians,  as 
the  sequel  relates. — R.  G.  T. 

1  James  Mooney,  of  Russell’s  company,  and  Joseph  Hughey,  of 
Shelby’s.  They  were  surprised  at  the  mouth  of  Old  Town  Creek,  three 
miles  distant.  Hughey  was  killed  by  a  shot  fired  by  Tavenor  Ross,  a 
white  renegade  in  Cornstalk’s  party. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Few  officers  were  ever  more,  or  more  deservedly,  endeared  to 
those  under  their  command  than  Col.  Charles  Lewis.  In  the  many 
skirmishes,  which  it  was  his  fortune  to  have,  with  the  Indians  he  was 
uncommonly  successful;  and  in  the  various  scenes  of  life,  thro’  which 
he  passed,  his  conduct  was  invariably  marked  by  the  distinguishing 
characteristicks  of  a  mind,  of  no  ordinary  stamp.  His  early  fall  on  this 
bloody  field,  was  severely  felt  during  the  whole  engagement;  and  to  it 
has  been  attributed  the  partial  advantages  gained  by  the  Indian  army 
near  the  commencement  of  the  action.  When  the  [127]  fatal  ball  struck 
him,  he  fell  at  the  root  of  a  tree ;  from  whence  he  was  carried  to  his 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


169 


At  the  first  onset,  Colonel  Charles  Lewis  having  fallen, 
and  Colonel  Fleming  being  wounded,  both  lines  gave  way 
and  were  retreating  briskly  towards  the  camp,  when  they 
were  met  by  a  reinforcement  under  Colonel  Field,* 1  and 
rallied.  The  engagement  then  became  general,  and  was 
sustained  with  the  most  obstinate  fury  on  both  sides.  The 
Indians  perceiving  that  the  “tug  of  war”  had  come,  and 
determined  on  affording  the  Colonial  army  no  chance  of 
escape,  if  victory  should  declare  for  them,  formed  a  line 
extending  across  the  point,  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Kenhawa, 
and  protected  in  front,  by  logs  and  fallen  timber.  In  this 
situation  they  maintained  the  contest  with  unabated  vigor, 
from  sunrise  ’till  towards  the  close  of  evening;  bravely 
and  successfully  resisting  every  charge  which  was  made 
on  them;  and  withstanding  the  impetuosity  of  every  onset, 
with  the  most  invincible  firmness,  until  a  fortunate  move¬ 
ment  on  the  part  of  the  Virginia  troops,  decided  the  day. 

Some  short  distance  above  the  entrance  of  the  Kenhawa 
river  into  Ohio,  there  is  a  stream,  called  Crooked  creek, 
emptying  into  the  former  of  these,  from  the  Korth  east,2 
whose  hanks  are  tolerably  high,  and  were  then  covered 
with  a  thick  and  luxuriant  growth  of  weeds.  Seeing  the 
impracticability  of  dislodging  the  Indians,  by  the  most 
vigorous  attack,  and  sensible  of  the  great  danger,  which 
must  arise  to  his  army,  if  the  contest  were  not  decided  be¬ 
fore  night,  General  Lewis  detached  the  three  companies 
which  were  commanded  by  Captains  Isaac  Shelby,  George 
Matthews,  and  John  Stuart,  with  orders  to  proceed  up  the 
Kenhawa  river,  and  Crooked  creek  under  cover  of  the 
banks  and  weeds,  ’till  they  should  [128]  pass  some  dis¬ 
tance  beyond  the  enemy ;  when  they  were  to  emerge  from 

tent,  against  his  wish,  by  Capt.  Wm,  Morrow  and  a  Mr.  Bailey,  of  Cap¬ 
tain  Paul’s  company,  and  died  in  a  few  hours  afterwards.  In  remem¬ 
brance  of  his  great  worth,  the  legislature  named  the  county  of  Lewis 
after  him. 

1  An  active,  enterprising  and  meritorious  officer,  who  had  been  in  serv¬ 
ice  in  Braddock’s  war,  and  profited  by  his  experience  of  the  Indian  mode 
of  fighting.  His  death  checked  for  a  time  the  ardor  of  his  troops,  and 
spread  a  gloom  over  the  countenances  of  those,  who  had  accompanied 
him  on  this  campaign. 

2  A  half-mile  up  the  Big  Kanawha. — R.  G.  T. 


170 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


their  covert,  march  downward  towards  the  point  and  at* 
tack  the  Indians  in  their  rear.1  The  manoeuvre  thus 
planned,  was  promptly  executed,  and  gave  a  decided  vic¬ 
tory  to  the  Colonial  army.  The  Indians  finding  them¬ 
selves  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  encompassed  between 
two  armies,  &  not  doubting  but  that  in  their  rear,  was  the 
looked  for  reinforcement  under  Colonel  Christian,  soon 
gave  way,  and  about  sun  down,  commenced  a  precipitate 
retreat  across  the  Ohio,  to  their  towns  on  the  Scioto. 

Some  short  time  after  the  battle  had  ended,  Colonel 
Christian  arrived  with  the  troops  which  he  had  collected 
in  the  settlements  on  the  Holstein,  and  relieved  the  anxiety 
of  many  who  were  disposed  to  believe  the  retreat  of  the 

1  From  MS.  journals  and  letters  in  possession  of  the  Wisconsin  His¬ 
torical  Society,  it  appears  that  the  conduct  of  the  battle  was  as  follows : 
Andrew  Lewis,  who  as  yet  thought  the  enemy  to  be  but  a  scouting 
party,  and  not  an  army  equal  in  size  to  his  own,  had  the  drums  beat  to 
arms,  for  many  of  his  men  were  asleep  in  their  tents ;  and  w'hile  still 
smoking  his  pipe,  ordered  a  detachment  from  each  of  the  Augusta  com¬ 
panies,  to  form  150  strong  under  Col.  Charles  Lewis,  with  John  Dickin¬ 
son,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  John  Skidmore  as  the  captains.  Another 
party  of  like  size  was  formed  under  Col.  Fleming,  with  Captains  Shelby, 
Bussell,  Buford,  and  Philip  Love.  Lewis’s  party  marched  to  the  right, 
near  the  foot  of  the  hills  skirting  the  east  side  of  Crooked  Creek.  Flem¬ 
ing's  party  marched  to  the  left,  200  yards  apart  from  the  other.  A  quar¬ 
ter  of  a  mile  from  camp,  and  half  a  mile  from  the  point  of  the  cape,  the 
right-going  party  met  the  enemy  lurking  behind  trees  and  fallen  logs  at 
the  base  of  the  hill,  and  there  Charles  Lewis  was  mortally  wounded. 
Fleming  marched  to  a  pond  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  camp,  and  fifty 
rods  inland  from  the  Ohio — this  pond  being  one  of  the  sources  of 
Crooked  Creek.  The  hostile  line  was  found  to  extend  from  this  pond 
along  Crooked  Creek,  half  way  to  its  mouth.  The  Indians,  under 
Cornstalk,  thought  by  rushes  to  drive  the  whites  into  the  two  rivers, 
“  like  so  many  bullocks,”  as  the  chief  later  explained;  and  indeed  both 
lines  had  frequently  to  fall  back,  but  they  wTere  skillfully  reinforced  each 
time,  and  by  dusk  the  savages  placed  Old  Town  Creek  between  them  and 
the  whites.  This  movement  was  hastened,  a  half  hour  before  sunset, 
by  a  movement  which  Withers  confounds  with  the  main  tactics.  Cap¬ 
tains  Matthews,  Arbuckle,  Shelby,  and  Stuart  were  sent  with  a  detach¬ 
ment  up  Crooked  creek  under  cover  of  the  bank,  with  a  view  to  secur¬ 
ing  a  ridge  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  from  which  their  line  could  be  en_ 
filaded.  They  were  discovered  in  the  act,  but  Cornstalk  supposed  that 
this  party  was  Christian’s  advance,  and  in  alarm  hurried  his  people  to 
the  other  side  of  Old  Town  Creek.  The  battle  was,  by  dark,  really  a 
drawn  game ;  but  Cornstalk  had  had  enough,  and  fled  during  the 
night.— R.  G.  T. 


171 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

Indians  to  be  only  a  feint;1  and  that  an  attack  would  be 
again  speedily  made  by  them,  strengthened  and  reinforced 
by  those  of  the  enemy  who  had  been  observed  during  the 
engagement,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Ohio  and  Kenhawa 
rivers.  But  these  had  been  most  probably  stationed  there, 
in  anticipation  of  victory,  to  prevent  the  Virginia  troops 
from  effecting  a  retreat  across  those  rivers,  (the  only  possible 
chance  of  escape,  bad  they  been  overpowered  by  the  enemy 
in  their  front;)  and  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Indians  was 
too  great,  and  the  prospect  of  a  better  fortune,  too  gloomy 
and  unpromising,  for  them  to  enter  again  into  an  engage¬ 
ment.  Dispirited  by  the  bloody  repulse  with  which  they 
had  met,  they  hastened  to  their  towns,  better  disposed  to 
purchase  security  from  farther  hostilities  by  negotiation, 
than  risk  another  battle  with  an  army  whose  strength  and 
prowess,  they  had  already  tested ;  and  found  superior  to 
their  own.  The  victory  indeed,  was  decisive,  and  many 
advantages  were  obtained  by  it ;  but  they  were  not  cheaply 
bought.  The  Virginia  army  sustained,  in  this  engage¬ 
ment,  a  loss  of  seventy-five  killed,  and  one  hundred  and 
forty  wounded. — About  one  fifth  of  the  entire  number  of 
the  troops. 

Among  the  slain  were  Colonels  Lewis  and  Field  ;  Cap¬ 
tains  Buford,  Morrow,  Wood,  Cundiff,  Wilson,  and  Robert 
McClannahan  ;  and  Lieutenants  Allen,  Goldsby  and  Dil¬ 
lon,  with  some  other  subalterns.  The  loss  of  the  enemy 
could  not  be  ascertained.  On  the  morning  after  the  action, 
Colonel  Christian  marched  his  men  over  the  battle  ground 
and  found  twenty-one  of  the  Indians  lying  dead ;  and 
twelve  others  [129]  were  afterwards  discovered,  where 
they  had  been  attempted  to  be  concealed  under  some  old 
lo£S  and  brush.2 

1  During  the  day,  a  messenger  had  been  dispatched  to  hurry  on 
Christian,  who  with  250  men  was  convoying  cattle  and  powder.  In  the 
early  evening,  fifteen  miles  from  Point  Pleasant,  this  rear  'party  was 
found,  toiling  painfully  over  the  wilderness  trail.  Christian  at  once  left 
his  property  in  charge  of  a  small  party,  and  arrived  in  camp  by  mid¬ 
night. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Most  of  the  killed  and  wounded,  on  both  sides,  were  shot  in  the 
head  or  breast,  which  indicates  good  marksmanship.  The  Indians, 


172 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


From  the  great  facility  with  which  the  Indians  either 
carry  off  or  conceal  their  dead,  it  is  always  difficult  to  as¬ 
certain  the  number  of  their  slain  ;  and  hence  arises,  in 
some  measure,  the  disparity  between  their  known  loss  and 
that  sustained  by  their  opponents  in  battle.  Other  reasons 
for  this  disparity,  are  to  be  found  in  their  peculiar  mode 
of  warfare,  and  in  the  fact,  that  they  rarely  continue  a 
contest,  when  it  has  to  be  maintained  with  the  loss  of  their 
warriors.  It  would  not  be  easy  otherwise  to  account  for 
the  circumstance,  that  even  when  signally  vanquished,  the 
list  of  their  slain  does  not,  frequently,  appear  more  than 
half  as  great,  as  that  of  the  victors.  In  this  particular 
instance,  many  of  the  dead  were  certainly  thrown  into 
the  river. 

Nor  could  the  number  of  the  enemy  engaged,  be  ever 
ascertained.  Their  army  is  known  to  have  been  composed 
of  warriors  from  the  different  nations,  north  of  the  Ohio; 
and  to  have  comprised  the  flower  of  the  Shawanee,  Dela¬ 
ware,  Mingo,  Wyandotte  and  Cayuga  tribes;  led  on  by 
men,  whose  names  were  not  unknown  to  fame,* 1  and  at  the 
head  of  whom  was  Cornstalk,  Sachem  of  the  Shawanees, 
and  King  of  the  Northern  Confederacy.2 

though  skillful  marksmen,  did  not  exhibit  sufficient  mechanical  knowl¬ 
edge  to  enable  them  properly  to  clean  their  guns,  and  thus  were  at  some 
disadvantage. 

The  statistician  was  at  work  in  those  days,  as  now,  for  we  learn  from 
an  old  diary  that  at  Old  Town  Creek  were  found  by  the  white  victors, 
78  rafts  with  which  the  Indians  had  crossed  the  Ohio  to  the  attack,  the 
night  of  October  9- 10 ;  and  on  the  battlefield  during  the  10th  and  12th, 
were  collected  23  guns,  27  tomahawks,  80  blankets,  and  great  numbers 
of  war-clubs,  shot-pouches,  powder-horns,  match-coats,  deer-skins,  “  and 
other  articles,”  all  of  which  were  put  up  at  auction  by  the  careful  com¬ 
missary,  and  brought  nearly  £100  to  the  army  chest. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Such  were  Redhawk,  a  Delaware  chief, — Scoppathus,  a  Mingo, — 
Ellinipsico,  a  Shawanee,  and  son  to  Cornstalk, — Chiyawee,  a  Wyan¬ 
dotte,  and  Logan,  a  Cayuga. 

2 The  first  recorded  foray  of  Cornstalk  was  on  October  10,  1759,  against 
the  Gilmore  family  and  others,  on  Carr’s  Creek,  in  what  is  now  Rock¬ 
bridge  county,  Va.  “The  Carr’s  Creek  massacre  ”  was  long  remembered 
on  the  border  as  one  of  the  most  daring  and  cruel  on  record.  He  was 
again  heard  of  during  the  Pontiac  conspiracy,  in  1763,  when  he  led  a 
large  war-party  from  the  Scioto  towns  against  the  Virginia  frontier. 
Both  at  Muddy  Creek,  and  the  Clendenning  farm  near  Lewisburg,  on  the 


Of  Bordex  Warfare. 


173 


This  distinguished  chief  and  consummate  warrior, 
proved  himself  on  that  day,  to  be  justly  entitled  to  the 
prominent  station  which  he  occupied.  His  plan  of  alter¬ 
nate  retreat  &  attack,  was  well  conceived,  and  occasioned 
the  principal  loss  sustained  by  the  writes.  If  at  any  time 
his  warriors  were  believed  to  waver,  his  voice  could  be 
heard  above  the  din  of  arms,  exclaiming  in  his  native 
tongue,  “  Be  strong!  Be  strong;”  and  when  one  near  him, 
by  trepidation  and  reluctance  to  proceed  to  the  charge, 
evinced  a  dastardly  disposition,  fearing  the  example  might 
have  a  pernicious  influence,  with  one  blow  of  the  toma¬ 
hawk  he  severed  his  skull.  It  was  perhaps  a  solitary  in¬ 
stance  in  which  terror  predominated.  Never  did  men 
exhibit  a  more  conclusive  evidence  of  bravery,  in  making 
a  charge,  and  fortitude  in  withstanding  an  onset,  than  did 
these  undisciplined  soldiers  of  the  forest,  in  the  [130]  field 
at  Point  Pleasant.  Such  too  was  the  good  conduct  of 
those  who  composed  the  army  of  Virginia,  on  that  occa¬ 
sion  ;  and  such  the  noble  bravery  of  many,  that  high  ex- 

Levels  of  the  Greenbrier,  the  marauders  pretended  to  be  friendly  with 
the  settlers,  and  in  an  unguarded  moment  fell  upon  and  slew  them. 
Other  massacres,  in  connection  with  the  same  foray,  were  at  Carr’s 
Creek,  Keeney’s  Knob,  and  Jackson’s  River.  The  story  of  the  captivity 
of  Mrs.  Clendenning  and  her  children,  who  were  taken  to  the  Shawnee 
towns  on  the  Scioto,  is  one  of  the  most  heartrendering  in  Western  his¬ 
tory.  In  1764,  Bouquet  raided  these  towns,  and  Cornstalk  was  one  of 
the  hostages  sent  to  Fort  Pitt  in  fulfillment  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
but  later  he  effected  his  escape.  Nothing  more  is  heard  of  this  warrior 
until  1774,  when  he  became  famous  as  leader  of  the  Indians  at  the  bat¬ 
tle  of  Point  Pleasant.  Cornstalk’s  intelligence  was  far  above  that  of 
the  average  Shawnee.  He  had,  before  the  Dunmore  War,  strongly 
counseled  his  people  to  observe  the  peace,  as  their  only  salvation  ;  but 
when  defeated  in  council,  he  with  great  valor  led  the  tribesmen  to  war. 
After  the  treaty  of  Fort  Charlotte,  he  renewed  his  peace  policy,  and 
was  almost  alone  in  refusing  to  join  the  Shawnee  uprising  in  1777.  Late 
in  September,  that  year,  he  visited  his  white  friends  at  Fort  Randolph 
(Point  Pleasant),  and  was  retained  as  one  of  several  hostages  for  the  tribe* 
Infuriated  at  some  murders  in  the  vicinity,  the  private  soldiers  in  the 
fort  turned  upon  the  Indian  prisoners  and  basely  killed  them,  Cornstalk 
among  the  number.  Governor  Patrick  Henry  and  General  Hand — the 
latter  then  organizing  his  futile  expedition  against  the  Shawnees — 
wished  to  punish  the  murderers;  but  in  the  prevalent  state  of  public 
opinion  on  the  border,  it  was  easy  for  them  to  escape  prosecution. — 
R.  G.  T. 


174 


Withers's  Chronicles 


pectations  were  entertained  of  their  future  distinction. 
Nor  were  those  expectations  disappointed.  In  the  various 
scenes  through  wdiich  they  subsequently  passed,  the  pledge 
of  after  eminence  then  given,  was  fully  redeemed;  and  the 
names  of  Shelby,  Campbell,  Matthews,  Fleming,  Moore, 
and  others,  their  compatriots  in  arms  on  the  memorable 
tenth  of  October,  1774,  have  been  inscribed  in  brilliant 
characters  on  the  roll  of  fame.1 

Having  buried  the  dead,  and  made  every  arrangement 
of  which  their  situation  admitted,  for  the  comfort  of  the 
wounded,  entrenchments  were  thrown  up,  and  the  army 
commenced  its  march  to  form  a  junction  with  the  north¬ 
ern  division,  under  Lord  Dunmore.  Proceeding  by  the 
way  of  the  Salt  Licks,  General  Lewis  pressed  forward 
with  astonishing  rapidity  (considering  that  the  march  was 
through  a  trackless  desert);  but  before  he  had  gone  far,  an 
express  arrived  from  Dunmore,  with  orders  to  return  im¬ 
mediately  to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kenhawa.  Suspecting 
the  integrity  of  his  Lordship’s  motives,  and  urged  by  the 
advice  of  his  officers  generally,  General  [131]  Lewis  re¬ 
fused  to  obey  these  orders ;  and  continued  to  advance  ’till 
he  was  met,  (at  Kilkenny  creek,  and  in  sight  of  an  Indian 
village,  which  its  inhabitants  had  just  fired  and  deserted,) 

1  The  following  gentlemen,  with  others  of  high  reputation  in  private 
life,  were  officers  in  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant.  Gen.  Isaac  Shelby, 
the  first  governor  of  Kentucky,  and  afterwards,  secretary  of  war ; — Gen. 
William  Campbell  and  Col.  John  Campbell,  heroes  of  King’s  mountain 
and  Long  Island ; — Gen.  Evan  Shelby,  one  of  the  most  favored  citizens 
of  Tennessee,  often  honored  with  the  confidence  of  that  state ; — Col. 
William  Fleming,  an  active  governor  of  Virginia  during  the  revolution¬ 
ary  war; — Gen.  Andrew  Moore  of  Rockbridge,  the  only  man  ever  elected 
by  Virginia,  from  the  country  west  of  the  Blue  ridge,  to  the  senate  of 
the  United  States; — Col.  John  Stuart,  of  Greenbrier; — Gen.  Tate,  of 
Washington  county,  Virginia ; — Col.  William  McKee,  of  Lincoln  county, 
Kentucky; — Col.  John  Steele,  since  a  governor  of  Mississippi  territory; 
— Col.  Charles  Cameron,  of  Bath; — Gen.  Bazaleel  Wells,  of  Ohio;  and 
Gen.  George  Matthews,  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  war  of  the  revolu¬ 
tion,  the  hero  of  Brandywine,  Germantown,  and  of  Guilford ; — a  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Georgia,  and  a  senator  from  that  state  in  the  congress  of  the 
United  States.  The  salvation  of  the  American  army  at  Germantown, 
is  ascribed,  in  Johnston’s  life  of  Gen.  Green,  to  the  bravery  and  good 
conduct  of  two  regiments,  one  of  which  was  commanded  by  General, 
then  Col.  Matthews. 


175 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

by  the  Governor,  (accompanied  by  White  Eyes,)  who  in¬ 
formed  him,  that  he  was  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace 
which  would  supersede  the  necessity  of  the  further  move¬ 
ment  of  the  Southern  division,  and  repeating  the  order  for 
its  retreat. 

The  army  under  General  Lewis  had  endured  many 
privations  and  suffered  many  hardships.  They  had  en¬ 
countered  a  savage  enemy  in  great  force,  and  purchased  a 
victory  with  the  blood  of  their  friends.  When  arrived 
near  to  the  goal  of  their  anxious  wishes,  and  with  noth¬ 
ing  to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  the  object  of  the 
campaign ;  they  received  those  orders  with  evident  cha¬ 
grin  ;  and  did  not  obey  them  without  murmuring.  Hav¬ 
ing,  at  his  own  request,  been  introduced  severally  to  the 
officers  of  that  division;  complimenting  them  for  their 
gallantry  and  good  conduct  in  the  late  engagement,  and 
assuring  them  of  his  high  esteem,  Lord  Dunmore  re¬ 
turned  to  his  camp;  and  General  Lewis  commenced  his 
retreat.1 


1  In  order  to  get  a  clearer  view  of  the  situation,  a  few  more  details 
are  essential  here.  For  several  days  after  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant, 
Lewis  was  busy  in  burying  the  dead,  caring  for  the  wounded,  collecting 
the  scattered  cattle,  and  building  a  store-house  and  small  stockade  fort. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  October  13th,  messengers  who  had  been  sent 
on  to  Dunmore,  advising  him  of  the  battle,  returned  with  orders  to  Lewis 
to  march  at  once  with  all  his  available  force,  against  the  Shawnee 
towns,  and  when  within  twenty-five  miles  of  Chillicothe  to  write  to  his 
lordship.  The  next  day,  the  last  rear  guard,  with  the  remaining  beeves, 
arrived  from  the  mouth  of  the  Elk,  and  while  wrork  on  the  defense^  at 
the  Point  "was  hurried,  preparations  were  made  for  the  march.  By 
evening  of  the  17th,  Lewis,  wTith  1,150  men  in  good  condition,  had 
crossed  the  Ohio  and  gone  into  camp  on  the  north  side.  Each  man 
had  ten  days’  supply  of  flour,  a  half  pound  of  powder,  and  a  pound  and 
a  half  of  bullets;  while  to  each  company  was  assigned  a  pack-horse  for 
the  tents.  Point  Pleasant  was  left  in  command  of  Col.  Fleming, — who 
had  been  severely  wounded  in  the  battle, — Captains  Dickinson,  Lock- 
ridge,  Herbert,  and  Slaughter,  and  278  men,  few  of  whom  were  fit  for 
service.  On  the  18th,  Lewis,  with  Captain  Arbuckle  as  guide,  advanced 
towards  the  Shawnee  towns,  eighty  miles  distant  in  a  straight  line,  and 
probably  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  by  the  circuitous  Indian  trails. 
The  army  marched  about  eleven  miles  a  day,  frequently  seeing  hostile 
parties  but  engaging  none.  Peaching  the  salt  licks  near  the  head  of 
the  south  branch  of  Salt  Creek  (in  the  present  Lick  township,  Jackson 
county,  0.),  they  descended  that  valley  to  the  Scioto,  and  thence  to  a 


Withers's  Chronicles 


176 

V 

If  before  the  opening  of  this  campaign,  the  belief  was 
prevalent,  that  to  the  conduct  of  emissaries  from  Great 
Britain,  because  of  the  contest  then  waging  between  her 
and  her  American  colonies,  the  Indian  depredations  of 
that  year,  were  mainly  attributable ;  that  belief  had  be¬ 
come  more  general,  and  had  received  strong  confirmation, 
from  the  more  portentous  aspect  which  that  contest  had 
assumed,  prior  to  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant.  The  de¬ 
struction  of  the  tea  at  Boston  had  taken  place  in  the 
March  preceding.  The  Boston  Port  Bill ,  the  signal  for 
actual  conflict  between  the  colonies  and  mother  country, 
had  been  received  early  in  May.  The  house  of  Bur¬ 
gesses  in  Virginia,  being  in  session  at  the  time,  recom¬ 
mended  that  the  first  of  June,  the  day  on  which  that 

prairie  on  Kinnikinnick  (not  Kilkenny)  Creek,  where  was  the  freshly- 
deserted  Indian  village  referred  to  above,  by  Withers.  This  was  thir¬ 
teen  miles  south  of  Chillicothe  (now  Westfall).  Here  they  were  met, 
early  on  the  24th,  by  a  messenger  from  his  lordship,  ordering  them  to 
halt,  as  a  treaty  was  nearly  concluded  at  Camp  Charlotte.  But  Lewis’s 
army  had  been  fired  on  that  morning,  and  the  place  was  untenable  for 
a  camp  in  a  hostile  country,  so  he  concluded  to  seek  better  ground.  A 
few  hours  later  another  messenger  came,  again  peremptorily  ordering  a 
halt,  as  the  Shawnees  had  practically  come  to  terms.  Lewis  now  con¬ 
cluded  to  join  the  northern  division  in  force,  at  Camp  Charlotte,  not 
liking  to  have  the  two  armies  separated  in  the  face  of  a  treacherous 
enemy ;  but  his  guide  mistook  the  trail,  and  took  one  leading  directly 
to  the  Grenadier  Squaw’s  Town.  Lewis  camped  that  night  on  the 
west  bank  of  Congo  Creek,  two  miles  above  its  mouth,  and  five  and  a 
quarter  miles  from  Chillicothe,  with  the  Indian  town  half-way  between. 
The  Shawnees  were  now  greatly  alarmed  and  angered,  and  Dunmore 
himself,  accompanied  by  the  Delaware  chief  White  Eyes,  a  trader,  John 
Gibson,  and  fifty  volunteers,  rode  over  in  hot  haste  that  evening  to  stop 
Lewis,  and  reprimand  him.  His  lordship  was  mollified  by  Lewis’s  ex¬ 
planations,  but  the  latter’s  men,  and  indeed  Dunmore’s,  were  furious 
over  being  stopped  when  within  sight  of  their  hated  quarry,  and  tradi¬ 
tion  has  it  that  it  was  necessary  to  treble  the  guards  during  the  night 
to  prevent  Dunmore  and  White  Eyes  from  being  killed.  The  following 
morning  (the  25th),  his  lordship  met  and  courteously  thanked  Lewis’s 
officers  for  their  valiant  service ;  but  said  that  now  the  Shawnees  had 
acceded  to  his  wishes,  the  further  presence  of  the  southern  division 
might  engender  bad  blood.  Thus  dismissed,  Lewis  led  his  army 
back  to  Point  Pleasant,  which  was  reached  on  the  28th.  He  left  there 
a  garrison  of  fifty  men  under  Captain  Russell,  and  then  by  companies 
the  volunteers  marched  through  the  wilderness  to  their  respective 
homes,  where  they  disbanded  early  in  November. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


177 


bill  was  to  go  into  operation,  be  observed  throughout 
the  colony  “as  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation  and  prayer, 
imploring  the  divine  interposition  to  avert  the  heavy 
calamity  which  threatened  destruction  to  their  civil 
rights,  and  the  evils  of  a  civil  war.”  In  consequence 
of  this  recommendation  and  its  accompanying  resolutions, 
the  Governor  had  dissolved  the  Assembly.  The  Legis¬ 
lature  of  Massachusetts  had  likewise  passed  declaratory 
resolutions,  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the  state  of  pub¬ 
lic  affairs  and  the  designs  of  Parliament;  and  which  led 
[132]  to  their  dissolution  also.  The  committee  of  corre¬ 
spondence  at  Boston,  had  framed  and  promulgated  an 
agreement,  which  induced  Governor  Gage,  to  issue  a 
proclamation,  denouncing  it  as  “  an  unlawful,  hostile  and 
traitorous  combination,  contrary  to  the  allegiance  due  to 
the  King,  destructive  of  the  legal  authority  of  Parliament, 
and  of  the  peace,  good  order,  and  safety  of  the  com¬ 
munity;”  and  requiring  of  the  magistrates,  to  apprehend 
and  bring  to  trial,  all  such  as  should  be  in  any  wise  guilty 
of  them.  A  congress,  composed  of  delegates  from  the 
different  colonies,  and  convened  for  the  purpose  “  of  unit¬ 
ing  and  guiding  the  councils,  and  directing  the  efforts  of 
North  America,”  had  opened  its  session  on  the  4th  of  Sep¬ 
tember.  In  line,  the  various  elements  of  that  tempest, 
which  soon  after  overspread  the  thirteen  united  colonies, 
had  been  already  developed,  and  were  rapidly  concentrating, 
before  the  orders  for  the  retreat  of  the  Southern  division  of 
the  army,  were  issued  by  Lord  Dunmore.  How  far  these 
were  dictated  by  a  spirit  of  hostility  to  the  cause  of  the 
colonies,  and  of  subservience  to  the  interests  of  Great 
Britain,  in  the  approaching  contest,  may  be  inferred  from 
his  conduct  during  the  whole  campaign ;  and  the  course 
pursued  by  him,  on  his  return  to  the  seat  of  government. 
If  indeed  there  existed  (as  has  been  supposed,)  between 
the  Indians  and  the  Governor  from  the  time  of  his  arrival 
with  the  Northern  Division  of  the  army  at  Fort  Pitt,  a 
secret  and  friendly  understanding,  looking  to  the  almost 
certain  result  of  the  commotions  which  were  agitating 

O  O 

America,  then  was  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant,  virtually 
12 


173 


Withers's  Chronicles 


the  first  in  the  series  of  those  brilliant  achievements 
which  burst  the  bonds  of  British  tyranny ;  and  the  blood 
of  Virginia,  there  nobly  shed,  was  the  first  blood  spilled 
in  the  sacred  cause  of  American  liberty.1 

It  has  been  already  seen  that  Lord  Dunmore  failed  to 
form  a  junction  with  General  Lewis,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Kenhawa,  agreeably  to  the  plan  for  the  campaign, 
as  concerted  at  Williamsburg  by  the  commanding  officer 
of  each  division.  Ho  reason  for  changing  the  direction  of 
his  march,  appears  to  have  been  assigned  by  him;  and 
others  were  left  to  infer  his  motives,  altogether  from  cir¬ 
cumstances. 

While  at  Fort  Pitt  Lord  Dunmore  was  joined  by  the 
notorious  Simon  Girty,2  who  accompanied  him  from  thence 
’till  the  close  of  the  expedition.  The  subsequent  conduct 
of  this  man,  his  attachment  to  the  side  of  Great  Britain, 
in  her  [133]  attempts  to  fasten  the  yoke  of  slavery  upon 
the  necks  of  the  American  people, — his  withdrawal  from 
the  garrison  at  Fort  Pitt  while  commissioners  were  there 
for  the  purpose  of*  concluding  a  treaty  with  the  Indians, 
as  was  stipulated  in  the  agreement  made  with  them  by 
Dunmore, — the  exerting  of  his  influence  over  them,  to 
prevent  the  chiefs  from  attending  there,  and  to  win  them 
to  the  cause  of  England, — his  ultimate  joining  the  savages 
in  the  war  which  (very  much  from  his  instigation,)  they 
waged  against  the  border  settlements,  soon  after, — the 
horrid  cruelties,  and  fiendish  tortures  inflicted  on  unfor- 

1  This  is  not  the  view  of  students  in  our  own  day,  coolly  looking  at 
the  affair  from  the  distance  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  years.  There  now 
seems  no  room  to  doubt  that  Dunmore  was  thoroughly  in  earnest,  that 
he  prosecuted  the  war  with  vigor,  and  knew  when  to  stop  in  order  to 
secure  the  best  possible  terms.  Our  author  wrote  at  a  time  when  many 
heroes  of  Point  Pleasant  were  still  alive,  and  his  neighbors;  he  re¬ 
flected  their  views,  and  the  passions  of  the  day.  That  it  was,  in  view*  of 
the  events  then  transpiring,  the  best  policy  to  turn  back  the  southern 
army,  after  the  great  battle,  and  not  insist  too  closely  on  following  up 
the  advantage  gained,  seems  now  incontrovertible. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Butterfield’s  History  of  the  Girtys  (Cincinnati,  1890)  is  a  valuable  con¬ 
tribution  to  Western  history.  Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty  were 
notorious  renegade  whites,  who  aided  the  Indians  against  the  borderers 
from  1778  to  1783;  Simon  and  George  were  similarly  active  in  the  In¬ 
dian  war  of  1790-95. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


179 


tunate  white  captives  by  his  orders  and  connivance; — all 
combined  to  form  an  exact  counterpart  to  the  subsequent 
conduct  of  Lord  Dunmore  when  exciting  the  negroes  to 
join  the  British  standard  ; — plundering  the  property  of 
those  who  were  attached  to  the  cause  of  liberty, — and  ap¬ 
plying  the  brand  of  conflagration  to  the  most  flourishing 
town  in  Virginia. 

At  Wheeling,  as  they  were  descending  the  river,  the 
army  delayed  some  days ;  and  while  proceeding  from 
thence  to  form  a  junction  with  the  division  under  general 
Lewis,  was  joined,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Kenhawa, 
by  the  noted  John  Connoly,  of  great  fame  as  a  tory. 

Of  this  man,  Lord  Dunmore  thence  forward  became 
an  intimate  associate ;  and  while  encamped  at  the  mouth 
of  Hock  Hocking — seemed  to  make  him  his  confidential 
adviser.  It  was  here  too,  only  seventy  miles  distant  from 
the  head  quarters  of  General  Lewis,  that  it  was  determined 
to  leave  the  boats  and  canoes  and  proceed  by  land  to  the 
Chilicothe  towns.1 

The  messengers,  despatched  by  Lord  Dunmore  to  ap¬ 
prize  the  lower  army  of  this  change  of  determination,  were 
Indian  traders ;  one  of  whom  being  asked,  if  he  supposed 
the  Indians  would  venture  to  give  battle  to  the  superior 
force  of  the  whites,  replied  that  they  certainly  would,  and 

1  Upon  leaving  Pittsburg, — where  the  governor  held  a  council  with 
several  Delaware  and  Mingo  chiefs,  to  whom  he  recited  the  outrages 
perpetrated  by  the  Shawnees  since  Bouquet’s  treaty  of  1764 — the  north¬ 
ern  division  divided  into  two  wings.  One,  700  strong,  under  Dunmore, 
descended  the  river  in  boats ;  the  other  500  went  across  the  “  pan-han¬ 
dle”  by  land,  with  the  cattle,  and  both  rendezvoused,  September  30th, 
at  Wheeling,  91  miles  below  Pittsburg.  Next  day,  Crawford  resumed 
his  march  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Ohio,  to  a  point  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Big  Hockhocking,  107  miles  farther  down.  Here  the  men, 
the  200  bullocks,  and  the  50  pack-horses  swam  the  Ohio,  and  just  above 
the  Big  Hockhocking  (the  site  of  the  present  Hockingport)  erected 
a  blockhouse  and  stockade,  which  they  called  Fort  Gower,  in  honor  of 
the  English  earl  of  that  name.  A  part  of  the  earthwork  can  still  (1894) 
be  seen  in  the  garden  of  a  Hockingport  residence.  Dunmore’s  party,  in 
100  canoes  and  pirogues,  arrived  a  few  days  later.  While  at  Fort  Gower, 
he  was  joined  by  the  Delaware  chiefs,  White  Eyes  and  John  Montour, 
the  former  of  whom  was  utilized  as  an  agent  to  negotiate  with  the 
Shawnees — R.  G.  T. 


180 


Withers's  Chronicles 


that  Lewis’  division  would  soon  see  his  prediction  verified.1 
This  was  on  the  day  previous  to  the  engagement.  On  the 
return  of  these  men,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  they 
must  have  seen  the  Indian  army  which  made  the  attack  on 
the  next  morning;  and  the  belief  was  general  on  the  day 
of  battle,  that  they  had  communicated  to  the  Indians,  the 
present  strength  and  expected  reinforcement  of  the  south¬ 
ern  division.  It  has  also  been  said  that  on  the  evening  of 
the  10th  of  October,  while  [134]  Dunmore,  Connoly  and 
one  or  two  others  were  walking  together,  his  Lordship 
remarked  “by  this  time  General  Lewis  has  warm  work.”  2 

The  acquaintance  formed  by  the  Governor  with  Con¬ 
noly,  in  the  ensuing  summer  was  further  continued,  and  at 
length  ripened  into  one  of  the  most  iniquitous  conspira¬ 
cies,  that  ever  disgraced  civilized  man. 

In  July,  1775,  Connoly  presented  himself  to  Lord 
Dunmore  with  proposals,  well  calculated  to  gain  the  favor 
of  the  exasperated  Governor,  and  between  them  a  plan 
was  soon  formed,  which  seemed  to  promise  the  most  cer¬ 
tain  success.  Assurances  of  ample  rewards  from  Lord 
Dunmore,  were  transmitted  to  such  officers  of  the  militia 
on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  as  were  believed  to  be  friendly 
to  the  royal  cause,  on  putting  themselves  under  the  com¬ 
mand  of  Connoly;  whose  influence  with  the  Indians,  was 

1  This  was  William  McCulloch. — R.  G.  T. 

2  The  authority  for  this  is  Stuart’s  Indian  Wars,  p.  56.  Abraham 
Thomas,  in  his  Sketches,  relates  that  the  governor,  placing  his  ear  at  the 
surface  of  the  river,  said  he  thought  he  heard  the  firing  of  guns ;  and 
Thomas,  then  a  young  militiaman,  was  asked  to  do  likewise,  and  re¬ 
ported  that  it  was  the  rattle  of  musketry.  The  distance  across  country 
to  Point  Pleasant  was  but  twenty-eight  miles,  but  by  the  river  windings 
was  sixty-six.  These  anecdotes  have  been  related  as  proof  that  Dunmore 
desired  Lewis  beaten.  White  Eyes  had  notified  the  governor  that  a  con¬ 
flict  was  expected,  though  he  had  reported  a  much  smaller  Indian  army 
than  Lewis’s ;  hence  his  lordship  had  no  fear  of  the  result.  Had  he  known 
that  the  opposing  forces  were  equal  in  number,  and  that  the  whites  had 
been  surprised,  he  doubtless  would  have  sent  relief.  Knowing  the 
Shawnee  warriors  were  away  from  home,  fighting  Lewis,  whom  he 
had  reason  to  suppose  was  very  well  able  to  handle  them,  he  determined 
to  advance  inland  to  the  deserted  towns  on  the  Scioto  and  destroy  their 
houses  and  crops.  He  was  upon  this  errand  when  met  and  stopped  by 
the  messengers  of  peace. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


181 


to  ensure  their  co-operation  against  the  friends  of  America. 
To  perfect  this  scheme,  it  was  necessary  to  communicate 
with  General  Gage ;  and  about  the  middle  of  September, 
Connoly,  with  despatches  from  Dunmore,  set  off  for  Bos¬ 
ton,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  returned,  with  in¬ 
structions  from  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  which  de¬ 
veloped  their  whole  plan.  Connoly  was  invested  with  the 
rank  of  Colonel  of  a  regiment,  (to  be  raised  among  those 
on  the  frontiers,  who  favored  the  cause  of  Great  Britain,) 
with  which  he  was  to  proceed  forthwith  to  Detroit,  where 
he  was  to  receive  a  considerable  reinforcement,  and  be  sup¬ 
plied  with  cannon,  muskets  and  ammunition.  He  was 
then  to  visit  the  different  Indian  nations,  enlist  them  in 
the  projected  enterprise,  and  rendezvous  his  whole  force 
at  Fort  Pitt.  From  thence  he  was  to  cross  the  Alleghany 
mountain,  and  marching  through  Virginia  join  Lord  Dun- 
more,  on  the  20th  of  the  ensuing  April,  at  Alexandria. 

This  scheme,  (the  execution  of  which  would  at  once, 
have  laid  waste  a  considerable  portion  of  Virginia,  and 
ultimately  perhaps,  nearly  the  whole  state,)  was  frustrated 
by  the  taking  of  Connoly,  and  all  the  particulars  of  it, 
made  known.  This  development,  served  to  shew  the  vil¬ 
lainous  connexion  existing  between  Dunmore  and  Connoly, 
and  to  corroborate  the  suspicion  of  General  Lewis  and 
many  of  his  officers,  that  the  conduct  of  the  former,  dur¬ 
ing  the  campaign  of  1774,  was  [135]  dictated  by  any  thing 
else  than  the  interest  and  well  being  of  the  colony  of 
Virginia. 

This  suspicion  was  farther  strengthened  by  the  readi¬ 
ness  with  which  Lord  Dunmore  embraced  the  overtures 
of  peace,  and  the  terms  on  which  a  treaty  was  concluded 
with  them;  while  the  encamping  of  his  army,  without  en¬ 
trenchments,  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  and  in 
the  immediate  adjacency  of  the  combined  forces  of  the 
Indian  nations  of  Ohio,  would  indicate,  that  there  must 
have  been  a  friendly  understanding  between  him  and 
them.  To  have  relied  solely  on  the  bravery  and  good 
conduct  of  his  troops,  would  have  been  the  height  of  im¬ 
prudence.  Ilis  army  was  less  thap  that,  which  had  been 
scarcely  delivered  from  the  fury  of  a  body  of  savages  in- 


182 


Withers's  Chronicles 


ferior  in  number,  to  the  one  with  which  he  would  have 
had  to  contend ;  and  it  would  have  been  folly  in  him  to 
suppose,  that  he  could  achieve  with  a  smaller  force,  what 
required  the  utmost  exertions  of  General  Lewis  and  his 
brave  officers,  to  effect  with  a  greater  one.1 

When  the  Northern  division  of  the  armv  resumed  its 
march  for  Chilicothe,  it  left  the  greater  part  of  its  pro¬ 
visions  in  a  block  house  which  had  been  erected  during  its 
stay  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hockhocking,  under  the  care  of 
Captain  Froman  with  a  small  party  of  troops  to  garrison 
it.  On  the  third  day  after  it  left  Fort  Gore  (the  block 
house  at  the  mouth  of  Hockhocking)  a  white  man  by  the 
name  of  Elliott  came  to  Governor  Dunmore,  with  a  re¬ 
quest  from  the  Indians  that  he  would  withdraw  the  army 
from  their  country,  and  appoint  commissioners  to  meet 
their  chiefs  at  Pittsburg  to  confer  about  the  terms  of  a 
treaty.  To  this  request  a  reply  was  given,  that  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  was  well  inclined  to  make  peace,  and  was  willing 
that  hostilities  should  cease;  but  as  he  was  then  so  near 
their  towns,  and  all  the  chiefs  of  the  different  nations 
were  at  that  time  wTith  the  army,  it  would  be  more  con- 
convenient  to  negotiate  then,  than  at  a  future  period.  He 
then  named  a  place  at  which  he  would  encamp,  and  listen 
to  their  proposals ;  and  immediately  despatched  a  courier 
to  General  Lewis  with  orders  for  his  return.2 


lrThe  two  wings  of  the  white  army  had  about  the  same  strength — 
1100  under  Dunmore,  and  1150  (after  leaving  Point  Pleasant)  under 
Lewis.  The  fighting  quality  was  also  the  same,  in  both.  It  is  to  be  re¬ 
membered  that  in  the  army  under  Dunmore  there  was  very  little  dis¬ 
content  at  the  issue,  and  at  the  close  of  the  campaign  the  men  heartily 
thanked  his  lordship  for  his  valuable  services  in  behalf  of  the  people. 
They  did  this,  too,  at  a  time  when  they  knew  from  Eastern  news  re¬ 
ceived  in  camp,  that  the  Revolution  was  near  at  hand,  and  Dunmore 
must  soon  be  fighting  against  them  in  behalf  of  his  royal  master. 
— R.  G.  T. 

2  Dunmore  had,  through  White  Eyes,  summoned  the  Shawnee  chiefs 
to  treat  with  him  at  Fort  Gower  (not  Gore),  but  they  had  declined  to 
come  in.  He  then  set  out,  October  11th,  to  waste  their  towns  on  the 
Scioto,  as  previously  noted,  leaving  the  fort  in  charge  of  Captain  Kuy¬ 
kendall  (not  Froman),  with  whom  remained  the  disabled  and  the 
beeves.  Each  man  on  the  expedition  carried  flour  for  sixteen  days. 
Just  after  the  Point  Pleasant  battle,  Lewis  had  dispatched  a  messenger 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


183 


The  Indian  spies  reporting  that  General  Lewis  had 
disregarded  these  orders,  and  was  still  marching  rapidly 
towards  their  towns,  the  Indians  became  apprehensive  of 
the  result;  and  one  of  their  chiefs  (the  White  Eyes) 
waited  on  Lord  Dunmore  in  person,  and  complained  that 
the  “Long  Knives”  [136]  were  coming  upon  them  and 
would  destroy  all  their  towns.  Dunmore  then,  in  com¬ 
pany  with  White  Eyes,  visited  the  camp  of  General  Lewis, 
and  prevailed  with  him,  as  we  have  seen,  to  return  across 
the  Ohio. *  1 

In  a  few  days  after  this,  the  Northern  division  of  the 
army  approached  within  eight  miles  of  Chilicothe,  and  en¬ 
camped  on  the  plain,  at  the  place  appointed  for  the  chiefs 
to  meet  without  entrenchments  or  breast  works,  or  any 
protection,  save  the  vigilance  of  the  sentinels  and  the 
bravery  of  the  troops.1  On  the  third  day  from  the  halting 
of  the  army  eight  chiefs,  with  Cornstalk  at  their  head, 
came  into  camp ;  and  when  the  interpreters  made  known 
who  Cornstalk  was,  Lord  Dunmore  addressed  them,  and 
from  a  written  memorandum,  recited  the  various  infrac¬ 
tions,  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  of  former  treaties,  and 
different  murders,  unprovokedly  committed  by  them.  To 
all  this  Cornstalk  replied,  mixing  a  good  deal  of  recrimi¬ 
nation  with  the  defence  of  his  red  brethren ;  and  when  he 

to  his  lordship  with  news  of  the  affair ;  Dunmore’s  messenger  to  Lewis, 
with  instructions  to  the  latter  to  join  him  en  route ,  crossed  Lewis’s  ex¬ 
press  on  the  way.  The  messenger  from  Lewis  found  that  his  lordship 
had  marched  up  the  Big  Hockhocking  valley  for  the  Scioto,  and  hurried 
after  him.  The  governor  was  overtaken  at  the  third  camp  out  (west 
of  the  present  Nelsonville,  Athens  county,  O.),  and  the  good  news 
caused  great  joy  among  the  soldiers.  October  17th,  Dunmore  arrived 
at  what  he  styled  Camp  Charlotte  (on  the  northern  bank  of  Sippo 
Creek,  Pickaway  county,  eight  miles  east  of  Chillicothe,  in  view  of 
Pickaway  Plains),  and  here  the  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Doddridge’s  Notes  says  that  the  camp  was  surrounded  by  a  breast¬ 
work  of  fallen  trees,  and  an  entrenchment,  and  Roosevelt’s  Winning  of 
the  West  follows  him.  But  Dr.  Draper  w'as  distinctly  told  (in  1846-51)  by 
two  survivors  of  the  campaign,  Samuel  Murphy  and  John  Grim,  that 
Withers’s  account  is  correct ;  and  this  is  confirmed  in  Whittlesey’s  Fugi¬ 
tive  Essays.  In  the  center  of  the  field,  a  building  of  poles  was  erected, 
in  which  to  hold  the  council ;  around  this,  the  army  encamped.  A  large 
white  oak  having  been  peeled,  Dunmore  wrote  upon  it  in  red  chalk, 
“  Camp  Charlotte,”  thus  honoring  the  then  English  queen. — R.  G.  T. 


184 


Withers's  Chronicles 


had  concluded,  a  time  was  specified  when  the  chiefs  of  the 
different  nations  should  come  in,  and  proceed  to  the  nego¬ 
tiation  of  a  treaty. 

Before  the  arrival  of  that  period,  Cornstalk  came 
alone  to  the  camp,  and  acquainted  the  Governor  that  none 
of  the  Mingoes  would  attend ;  and  that  he  was  apprehen¬ 
sive  there  could  not  a  full  council  be  convened.  Dunmore 
then  requested  that  he  would  convoke  as  many  chiefs  of 
the  other  nations  as  he  could,  and  bring  them  to  the  coun¬ 
cil  fire  without  delav,  as  he  was  anxious  to  close  the  war 
at  once  ;  and  that  if  this  could  not  be  effected  peaceably, 
lie  should  be  forced  to  resume  hostilities.  Meantime  two 
interpreters  were  despatched  to  Logan,1  by  Lord  Dunmore, 
requesting  his  attendance; — but  Logan  replied,  that  “  he 
was  a  warrior,  not  a  councillor,  and  would  not  come.’” 

On  the  night  after  the  return  of  the  interpreters  to 
camp  [137]  Charlotte  (the  name  of  Dunmore’s  encamp- 

1  Logan  was  the  Mingo  chief,  the  massacre  of  whose  family  at  Ba¬ 
ker’s  Bottom,  the  previous  April,  has  already  been  described.  He  had 
just  returned  (October  21)  from  a  foray  on  the  Holston  border,  bringing 
several  scalps  and  three  prisoners,  when  the  trader  Gibson  and  the 
scout  Simon  Girty  "were  sent  to  him  by  his  lordship. — R.  G.  T. 

8  Colonel  Benjamin  Wilson,  Sen.  (then  an  officer  in  Dunmore’s 
army,  and  whose  narrative  of  the  campaign  furnished  the  facts  which 
are  here  detailed)  says  that  he  conversed  freely  with  one  of  the  inter¬ 
preters  (Nicholson)  in  regard  to  the  mission  to  Logan,  and  that  neither 
from  the  interpreter,  nor  any  other  one  during  the  campaign,  did  he 
hear  of  the  charge  preferred  in  Logan’s  speech  against  Captain  Cresap, 
as  being  engaged  in  the  affair  at  Yellow  creek. — Captain  Cresap  was  an 
officer  in  the  division  of  the  army  under  Lord  Dunmore  ;  and  it  would 
seem  strange  indeed,  if  Logan’s  speech  had  been  made  public,  at  camp 
Charlotte,  and  neither  he,  (who  was  so  materially  interested  in  it,  and 
could  at  once  have  proved  the  falsehood  of  the  allegation  which  it  con¬ 
tained,)  nor  Colonel  Wilson,  (who  was  present  during  the  whole  confer¬ 
ence  between  Lord  Dunmore  and  the  Indian  chiefs,  and  at  the  time 
when  the  speeches  were  delivered  sat  immediately  behind  and  close  to 
Dunmore,)  should  have  heard  nothing  of  it  until  years  after. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — Withers  thus  shortly  disposes  of  the  famous 
speech  by  Logan,  which  schoolboys  have  been  reciting  for  nearly  a 
hundred  years  as  one  of  the  best  specimens  extant,  of  Indian  eloquence. 
The  evidence  in  regard  to  the  speech,  which  was  undoubtedly  recited 
to  Gibson,  and  by  him  written  out  for  Lord  Dunmore’s  perusal,  and 
later  “  improved  ”  by  Jefferson,  is  clearly  stated  in  Roosevelt’s  Winning 
of  the  West,  I.,  app.  iii. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


185 


ment,)  Major  William  Crawford,  with  three  hundred  men, 
left  the  main  army  about  midnight,  on  an  excursion 
against  a  small  Mingo  village,  not  far  off.  Arriving  there 
before  day,  the  detachment  surrounded  the  town ;  and  on 
the  first  coming  out  of  the  Indians  from  their  huts,  there 
was  some  little  firing  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  by  which 
one  squaw  and  a  man  were  killed — the  others  about  20  in 
number  were  all  made  prisoners  and  taken  to  the  camp; 
where  they  remained  until  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty. 
Every  thing  about  the  village,  indicated  an  intention  of 
their  speedily  deserting  it.1 

Shortly  after  Cornstalk  and  two  other  chiefs,  made 
their  appearance  at  camp  Charlotte,  and  entered  into  a  ne¬ 
gotiation  which  soon  terminated  in  an  agreement  to  for¬ 
bear  all  farther  hostilities  against  each  other, — to  give  up 
the  prisoners  then  held  by  them,  and  to  attend  at  Pitts¬ 
burgh,  with  as  many  of  the  Indian  chiefs  as  could  be  pre¬ 
vailed  on  to  meet  the  commissioners  from  Virginia,  in  the 
ensuing  summer,  where  a  treaty  wTas  to  be  concluded  and 
ratified — Dunmore  requiring  hostages,  to  guarantee  the 
performance  of  those  stipulations,  on  the  part  of  the  In¬ 
dians. 

If  in  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant,  Cornstalk  mani¬ 
fested  the  bravery  and  generalship  of  a  mighty  captain ; 
in  the  negotiations  at  camp  Charlotte,  he  displayed  the 
skill  of  a  statesman,  joined  to  powers  of  oratory,  rarely, 
if  ever  surpassed.  With  the  most  patriotic  devotion  to 
his  country,  and  in  a  strain  of  most  commanding  elo¬ 
quence,  he  recapitulated  the  accumulated  wrongs,  which 
,  had  oppressed  their  fathers,  and  which  were  oppressing 
them.  Sketching  in  lively  colours,  the  once  happy  and 
powerful  condition  of  the  Indians,  he  placed  in  striking 

1  The  reason  for  the  attack  was,  that  the  Mingoes  were  implacable, 
and  Dunmore  had  learned  that  instead  of  coming  into  the  treaty  they 
purposed  retreating  to  the  Great  Lakes  with  their  prisoners  and  stolen 
horses.  This  Mingo  village  was  Seekonk  (sometimes  called  the  Hill  Town), 
30  or  40  miles  up  the  Scioto.  Crawford  left  Camp  Charlotte  the  night 
of  the  25th,  and  surprised  the  town  early  in  the  morning  of  the  27th. 
Six  were  killed,  several  wounded,  and  fourteen  captured;  the  rest 
escaping  into  the  forest.  Crawford  burned  several  Mingo  towns  in  the 
neighborhood. — R.  G.  T. 


186 


Withers's  Chronicles 


contrast,  their  present  fallen  fortunes  and  unhappy  destiny. 
Exclaiming  against  the  perfidiousness  of  the  whites,  and 
the  dishonesty  of  the  traders,  he  proposed  as  the  basis  of 
a  treaty,  that  no  persons  should  be  permitted  to  carry  on  a 
commerce  with  the  Natives,  for  individual  profit;  but  that 
[138]  their  white  brother  should  send  them  such  articles 
as  they  needed,  by  the  hands  of  honest  men,  who  were 
to  exchange  them  at  a  fair  price,  for  their  skins  and  furs; 
and  that  no  spirit  of  any  kind  should  be  sent  among  them, 
as  from  the  “  fire  water”  of  the  whites,  proceeded  evil  to 
the  Indians.1 

This  truly  great  man,  is  said  to  have  been  opposed  to 
the  war  from  its  commencement;  and  to  have  proposed 
on  the  eve  of  the  battle  at  Point  Pleasant,  to  send  in  a 
flag,  and  make  overtures  for  peace ;  but  this  proposal  was 
overruled  by  the  general  voice  of  the  chiefs.  When  a 
council  was  first  held  after  the  defeat  of  the  Indians,  Corn¬ 
stalk,  reminding  them  of  their  late  ill  success,  and  that 
the  Long  Knives  were  still  pressing  on  them,  asked  what 
should  be  then  done.  But  no  one  answered.  Rising 
again,  he  proposed  that  the  women  and  children  should 
be  all  killed ;  and  that  the  warriors  should  go  out  and 
fight,  until  they  too  were  slain.  Still  no  one  answered. 
Then,  said  he,  striking  his  tomahawk  into  the  council 
post,  “  I  will  go  and  make  peace.”  This  was  done,  and 
the  war  of  1774  concluded. 


1  In  remarking  on  the  appearance  and  manner  of  Cornstalk  while 
speaking,  Colonel  Wilson  says,  “  When  he  arose,  he  was  in  no  wise  con¬ 
fused  or  daunted,  but  spoke  in  a  distinct,  and  audible  voice,  without 
stammering  or  repetition,  and  with  peculiar  emphasis.  His  looks  while 
addressing  Dunmore,  were  truly  grand  and  majestic  ;  yet  graceful  and 
attractive.  I  have  heard  the  first  orators  in  Virginia,  Patrick  Henry 
and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  but  never  have  I  heard  one  whose  powers  of 
delivery  surpassed  those  of  Cornstalk  on  that  occasion." 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


187 


[139]  CHAPTER  VIII. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1774,  there  suc¬ 
ceeded  a  short  period  of  perfect  quiet,  and  of  undisturbed 
repose  from  savage  invasion,  along  the  borders  of  North 
Western  Virginia.  The  decisive  battle  of  the  10th  of 
October,  repressed  incursion  for  a  time,  and  taught  those 
implacable  enemies  of  her  citizens,  their  utter  inability, 
alone  and  unaided,  to  maintain  a  contest  of  arms,  against 
the  superior  power  of  Virginia.  They  saw  that  in  any 
future  conflict  with  this  colony,  her  belligerent  operations 
would  no  longer  be  confined  to  the  mere  purposes  of  de¬ 
fence  ;  but  that  war  would  be  waged  in  their  own  country, 
and  their  own  towns  become  the  theatre  of  its  action.  Had 
the  leading  objects  of  the  Dunmore  campaign,  been  fully 
accomplished, — had  the  contemplated  junction  of  the  dif¬ 
ferent  divisions  of  the  army  taken  place ; — had  its  com¬ 
bined  forces  extended  their  march  into  the  Indian  terri¬ 
tory,  and  effected  the  proposed  reduction  of  the  Chilicothe, 
and  other  towns  on  the  Scioto  and  Sandusky,  it  would 
have  been  long  indeed,  before  the  frontier  settlements,  be¬ 
came  exposed  to  savage  inroad.  A  failure  to  effect  these 
things  however,  left  the  Indians  comparatively  at  liberty, 
and  prepared  to  renew  invasion,  and  revive  their  cruel  and 
bloody  deeds,  whenever  a  savage  thirst  for  vengeance 
should  incite  them  to  action,  and  the  prospect  of  achieving 
them  with  impunity,  be  open  before  them.  In  the  then 
situation  of  our  country,  this  prospect  was  soon  presented 
to  them. 

The  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  her  American 
colonies,  which  had  been  for  some  time  carried  on  with  in¬ 
creasing  warmth,  was  ripening  rapidly  into  war.  The 
events  of  every  day,  more  and  more  confirmed  the  belief, 
that  the  u  unconditional  submission  ”  of  the  colonies,  was 
the  object  of  the  parent  state;  and  that  to  accomplish  this, 
she  was  [140]  prepared  to  desolate  the  country  by  a  civil 


188 


Withers's  Chronicles 


war,  and  imbrue  her  hands  in  the  blood  of  its  citizens. 
This  state  of  things  the  Indians  knew,  would  favor  the 
consummation  of  their  hopes.  Virginia,  having  to  apply 
her  physical  strength  to  the  repulsion  of  other  enemies, 
could  not  be  expected  to  extend  her  protecting  segis  over 
the  remote  and  isolated  settlements  on  her  borders.  These 
would  have  to  depend  on  themselves  alone,  for  resistance 
to  ruthless  irruption,  and  exemption  from  total  annihila¬ 
tion.  The  Indians  well  knew  the  weakness  of  those  settle¬ 
ments,  and  their  consequent  incapacity  to  vie  in  open  con¬ 
flict  with  the  overwhelming  force  of  their  savage  foes;  and 
their  heriditary  resentment  to  the  whites  prompted  them 
to  take  advantage  of  that  weakness,  to  wreak  this  resent¬ 
ment,  and  involve  them  once  more  in  hostilities. 

Other  circumstances  too,  combined  in  their  operation, 
to  produce  this  result.  The  plan  of  Lord  Dunmore  and 
others,  to  induce  the  Indians  to  co-operate  with  the  En¬ 
glish  in  reducing  Virginia  to  subjection,  and  defeated  by 
the  detection  and  apprehension  of  Connoly,  was  soon  after 
resumed  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  British  agents  were 
busily  engaged  from  Canada  to  the  Gulph  of  Mexico,  in  en- 
deavoringby  immediate  presents  and  the  promise  of  future 
reward,  to  excite  the  savages  to  a  war  upon  the  western 
frontiers.  To  accomplish  this  object,  no  means  which  were 
likely  to  be  of  any  avail,  were  neglected  to  be  used.  Grat¬ 
ified  resentment  and  the  certainty  of  plunder,  were  held  up 
to  view  as  present  consequences  of  this  measure;  and  the 
expulsion  of  the  whites,  and  the  repossession,  by  the  Na¬ 
tives,  of  the  country  from  which  their  fathers  had  been 
ejected,  as  its  ultimate  result. — Less  cogent  motives  might 
have  enlisted  them  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain.  These 
were  too  strong  to  be  resisted  by  them,  and  too  powerful 
to  be  counteracted  by  any  course  of  conduct,  which  the 
colonies  could  observe  towards  them;  and  they  became  en¬ 
snared  by  the  delusive  bait,  and  the  insidious  promises 
which  accompanied  it. 

There  were  in  the  colonies  too,  many  persons,  who 
from  principle  or  fear,  were  still  attached  to  the  cause  of 
Great  Britain  ;  and  who  not  only,  did  not  sanction  the  op¬ 
position  of  their  country  to  the  supremacy  of  Parliament, 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


189 


but  were  willing  in  any  wise  to  lend  their  aid  to  the  royal 
cause.  Some  of  those  disaffected  Americans,  (as  they  were 
at  first  denominated)  who  resided  on  the  frontiers,  foresee¬ 
ing  the  [141]  attachment  of  the  Indians  to  the  side  of 
Britain,  and  apprehensive  that  in  their  inroads,  the  friends 
as  well  as  the  enemies  of  that  country,  might,  from  the 
difficulty  of  discriminating,  be  exposed  to  savage  fury;  and 
at  the  same  time,  sensible  that  they  had  become  obnoxious 
to  a  majority  of  their  neighbors,  who  were  perhaps,  too 
much  inclined  to  practice  summary  modes  of  punishment, 
sought  a  refuge  among  the  Indians,  from  those  impending 
evils.  In  some  instances,  these  persons  were  under  the 
influence  of  the  most  rancorous  and  vindictive  passions, 
and  when  once  with  the  savages,  strove  to  infuse  those 
passions  into  their  breasts,  and  stimulate  them  to  the  repe¬ 
tition  of  those  enormities,  which  had  previously,  so  ter¬ 
ribly  annoyed  the  inhabitants  of  the  different  frontiers.1 
Thus  wrought  upon,  their  inculcated  enmity  to  the  Anglo- 
Americans  generally,  roused  them  to  action,  and  the  dis¬ 
sonant  notes  of  the  war  song,  resounded  in  their  villages. 
For  a  while  indeed,  they  refrained  from  hostilities  against 
Korth  Western  Virginia.  It  was  however,  but  to  observe 
the  progress  of  passing  events,  that  they  might  act  against 
the  mountain  borders,  simultaneously  with  the  British  on 
the  Atlantic  coast;  as  a  premature  movement  on  their 
part,  might,  while  Virginia  was  yet  at  liberty  to  bear 
down  upon  them  with  concentrated  forces,  bring  upon 
their  towns  the  destruction  which  had  so  appallingly 
threatened  them  after  the, battle  at  Point  Pleasant. 

But  though  the  inhabitants  on  the  Virginia  frontiers, 
enjoyed  a  momentary  respite  from  savage  warfare;  yet 
were  the  Indians  not  wholly  unemployed  in  deeds  of  ag¬ 
gression.  The  first  attempt  to  occupy  Kentucky,  had  been 
the  signal  of  hostilities  in  1774;  and  the  renewed  endeav¬ 
ors  to  form  establishments  in  it,  in  1775,  induced  their 

1  Chief  among  the  fomenters  of  disorder  were  the  renegades  Simon 
Girty,  Matthew  Elliott,  and  Alexander  McKee.  The  dastardly  deeds  of 
this  trio  are  fully  set  forth  in  Butterfield’s  History  of  the  Girtys,  an  im¬ 
portant  work  to  all  students  of  the  annals  of  the  West  during  the  Revo¬ 
lutionary  War. — R.  G.  T. 


190 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


continuance,  and  brought  on  those  who  were  engaged  in 
effecting  them,  all  the  horrors  of  savage  warfare. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  campaign  under  Lord  Dun- 
more,  Kentucky  became  more  generally  known.  James 

*  Harrod,  with  those  who  had  associated  themselves  with 
him  in  making  a  settlement  in  that  country  and  aided  in 
the  erection  of  the  fort  at  llarrodsburg,  joined  the  army 
of  General  Lewis  at  Point  Pleasant;  and  wThen,  after  the 
treaty  of  Camp  Charlotte,  the  army  was  disbanded,  many 
of  the  soldiers  and  some  of  the  officers,  enticed  by  the 
description  given  of  it  by  Harrod,  returned  to  south  West- 

\  ern  Virginia,  through  that  country.1  The  result  of  their 

1  James  Harrod’s  father  emigrated  from  England  to  Virginia,  about 
1734,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  on  the  Shenandoah,  in  the  Valley 
of  Virginia.  One  of  his  sons,  Samuel,  accompanied  Michael  Stoner  on 
his  famous  Western  hunting  and  exploring  trip,  in  1767;  another, 
William,  born  at  the  new  family  seat,  at  Big  Cove,  in  what  is  now  Bed¬ 
ford  County,  Pa.,  served  with  distinction  under  George  Rogers  Clark. 
James,  born  in  1742,  was  twelve  years  old  when  his  father  died,  leaving 
a  large  family  on  an  exposed  frontier,  at  the  opening  of  the  French  and 
Indian  War.  In  November,  1755,  a  raid  was  made  on  the  Big  Cove  set¬ 
tlement,  by  the  Delaware  chief  Shingiss  (p.  45,  note),  but  the  Harrods 
were  among  the  few  families  who  escaped  unharmed  to  Fort  Littleton. 
When  James  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  served  with  his  brother  Will¬ 
iam  on  Forbes’s  campaign,  and  very  likely  saw  further  service  during 
that  war.  In  1772,  when  he  had  attained  wide  celebrity  on  the  bor¬ 
der  as  an  adept  in  woodcraft,  he  helped  William  settle  on  Ten  Mile 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Monongahela;  and  in  1773  he  and  several 
other  explored  Kentucky,  returning  home  by  way  of  Greenbrier  River. 
We  have  seen  (p.  152,  note)  that  he  was  surveying  the  site  of  Harrods- 

*  burg  in  1774,  when  warned  by  Boone  and  Stoner.  Retiring  with  his 
men  to  the  Holston,  he  and  they  joined  Col.  Christian’s  regiment,  but 
arrived  at  Point  Pleasant  a  few  hours  after  the  battle  of  October  10. 
Returning  to  his  abandoned  Kentucky  settlement  March  18,  1775,  a 
fortnight  before  Boonesborough  was  founded,  he  was  chosen  a  delegate 
to  the  Transylvania  convention,  and  became  a  man  of  great  prominence 
in  the  Kentucky  colony.  In  1779  he  commanded  a  company  on  Bow¬ 
man’s  campaign,  and  the  year  following  was  a  captain  on  Clark’s  Indian 
campaign  ;  declining  a  majorship,  he  served  as  a  private  on  Clark’s 
campaign  of  1782.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  convention  (at 
Danville)  of  December,  1784,  and  at  one  time  represented  Kentucky  in 
the  Virginia  legislature.  In  February,  1792,  having  made  his  will,  he 
set  out  from  Washington,  Ky.,  with  two  men,  in  search  of  a  silver 
mine  reported  to  be  at  the  Three  Forks  of  the  Kentucky.  No  more  was 
heard  of  him  or  his  companions,  and  it  is  still  the  belief  of  the  family 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


191 


examination  of  it,  induced  many  to  migrate  thither  im¬ 
mediately ;  and  in  1775,  families  began  to  take  up  their 
residence  in  it. 

At  that  time,  the  only  white  persons  residing  in  Ken¬ 
tucky,  were  those  at  Harrod’s  fort;  and  for  a  while,  emi¬ 
grants  to  that  country  [142]  established  themselves  in  its 
immediate  vicinity,  that  they  might  derive  protection  from 
its  walls,  from  the  marauding  irruptions  of  Indians.  Two 
other  establishments  were,  however,  soon  made,  and  be¬ 
came,  as  well  as  Harrod’s,  rallying  points  for  land  advent¬ 
urers,  and  for  many  of  those,  whose  enterprising  spirits 
led  them,  to  make  their  home  in  that  wilderness.  The 
first  of  these  was  that  at  Boonesborough,  and  which  was  . 
made,  under  the  superintendence  of  Daniel  Boone. 

The  prospect  of  amassing  great  wealth,  by  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  a  large  body  of  land  from  the  Indians,  for  a 
comparatively  trifling  consideration,  induced  some  gentle¬ 
men  in  Horth  Carolina,  to  form  a  company,  and  endeavor 
by  negotiation  to  effect  such  purpose.  This  association 
was  known  under  the  title  of  Henderson  and  company; 
and  its  object  was,  the  acquisition  of  a  considerable  por¬ 
tion  of  Kentucky.* 1  The  first  step,  necessary  towards  the 

that  the  latter  murdered  him.  He  was  survived  by  his  wife  and  a 
daughter,  and  left  a  large  landed  estate.  Harrod,  although  unlettered, 
was  a  man  of  fine  presence  and  many  sterling  qualities,  and  made  a 
strong  impress  on  his  generation.  He  is  still  remembered  in  Kentucky 
as  one  of  the  worthiest  pioneers  of  that  state. — R.  G.  T. 

1  The  company — successively  called  The  Louisa  Company,  Hender¬ 
son  &  Co.,  and  The  Transylvania  Company  —  was  composed  of  Col. 
Richard  Henderson,  Col.  John  Williams,  Thomas  Hart,  Col.  David 
Hart,  Capt.  Nathaniel  Hart,  Col.  John  Luttsell,  James  Hogg,  William 
Johnston,  and  Leonard  Henley  Bullock. 

Henderson’s  paternal  great-grandfather  was  a  Scottish  immigrant, 
and  one  of  his  grandmothers  was  Welsh.  The  family  settled  in  Han¬ 
over  County,  Va.,  where  Richard,  son  of  Samuel  Henderson,  was  born 
April  20,  1735.  Samuel  moved  with  his  family  to  North  Carolina,  in 
1745,  and  became  sheriff  of  Granville  County.  Richard  had  the  educa¬ 
tion  of  a  rural  youth  of  good  station,  and  became  a  lawyer.  In  1767  he 
was  appointed  one  of  the  two  associate  justices  of  the  superior  court  of 
the  colony,  and  served  with  great  credit  for  six  years,  when  the  court 
was  abolished.  During  professional  visits  to  Salisbury,  Henderson  heard 
frequently — chiefly  through  the  brothers  Hart — of  the  exploits  of  Boone, 
and  the  latter’s  glowing  reports  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  Kentucky. 


192 


Withers's  Chronicles 


accomplishment  of  this  object,  was,  to  convene  a  council 
of  the  Indians;  and  as  the  territory  sought  to  be  acquired, 
did  not  belong,  in  individual  property  to  any  one  nation 

Reiving  implicitly  on  Boone’s  statements,  these  four  men  energetically 
resolved  to  settle  the  country.  In  the  autumn  of  F77.4,  Henderson  and 
Nathaniel  Hart  visited  the  Cherokees  to  ascertain  if  they  would  sell 
their  claims  to  Kentucky,  and  receiving  a  favorable  reply  agreed  to 
meet  the  Indians  in  treaty  council  at  the  Sycamore  Shoals,  on  Watauga 
River.  On  their  return  home,  they  were  accompanied  by  a  wise  old 
Indian  (Little  Carpenter),  and  a  young  buck  and  his  squaw,  delegates 
to  see  that  proper  goods  were  purchased  for  the  proposed  barter.  These 
goods  were  bought  in  December  at  Cross  Creek,  now  Fayetteville,  N.  C., 
and  forwarded  by  wagons  to  Watauga. 

Boone  was  then  sent  out  to  collect  the  Indians,  and  when  the  coun¬ 
cil  opened  (March  14,  1775)  had  twelve  hundred  assembled  at  the  Syca¬ 
more  Shoals — half  of  them  warriors.  The  council  proceeded  slowly, 
with  much  characteristic  vacillating  on  the  part  of  the  Indians ;  but  on 
the  third  day  (March  17)  the  deed  of  sale  was  signed  to  what  came  to 
be  known  as  “  the  great  grant:”  The  tract  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ken¬ 
tucky  (or  Louisa)  River  to  the  head  spring  of  its  most  northerly  fork ; 
thence  northeasterly  to  the  top  of  Powell’s  Mountain ;  thence  westerly 
and  then  northwesterly  to  the  head  spring  of  the  most  southerly 
branch  of  the  Cumberland;  thence  down  that  stream,  including  all  its 
waters,  to  the  Ohio,  and  thence  up  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ken¬ 
tucky.  The  Indians  were  conscious  that  they  had  sold  what  did  not 
belong  to  them ;  and  Dragging  Canoe  and  other  chiefs  were  outspoken  in 
their  opinion  that  the  whites  would  have  difficulty  in  settling  the  tract. 
The  Indians  were  much  dissatisfied  with  the  division  of  the  goods. 
These  “  filled  a  house  ”  and  cost  £10,000  sterling,  yet  when  distributed 
among  so  many  greedy  savages  each  had  but  a  small  share.  One  war¬ 
rior,  who  received  but  a  shirt  for  his  portion,  said  he  “  could  have  shot 
more  game  in  one  day  on  the  land  ceded,  than  would  pay  for  so  slight 
a  garment.” 

Governors  Martin,  of  North  Carolina,  and  Dunmore,  of  Virginia, 
issued  proclamations  against  the  purchase,  as  contrary  to  the  royal 
proclamation  of  1763.  But  those  who  were  present  at  the  treaty — 
among  them  such  prominent  borderers  as  Daniel  Boone,  James  Robert¬ 
son,  John  Sevier,  Isaac  Shelby,  Felix  Walker,  the  Bledsoes,  Richard 
Callaway,  William  Twitty,  William  Cocke,  and  Nathaniel  Henderson — 
were  heedless  of  such  proclamations,  and  eager  to  become  settlers  un¬ 
der  the  company’s  liberal  offer  made  to  them  on  the  spot:  for  each  man 
who  assisted  in  the  first  settlement,  and  went  out  and  raised  a  crop  of 
corn  that  year,  a  grant  of  500  acres  for  £5  sterling,  clear  of  all  charges. 

Boone,  as  the  company’s  agent,  started  out  at  once  (March  10)  wfith 
twenty  men,  soon  reinforced  to  thirty;  with  their  hatchets  they  blazed 
a  bridle  path  over  Cumberland  Gap,  and  across  Cumberland,  Laurel, 
and  Rockcastle  rivers,  to  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky,  where,  after  a 
running  fight  with  the  Indians,  they  arrived  April  1,  and  founded 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


193 


of  them,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  convoke  the  chiefs  of 
the  different  nations  south  of  the  Ohio  river.  A  time  was 
then  appointed  at  which  these  were  to  assemble ;  and  it 
became  necessary  to  engage  an  agent,  possessing  the  re¬ 
quisite  qualifications,  to  attend  the  council,  on  behalf  of 
Henderson  and  company,  and  to  transact  the  business  for 
them.  The  fame  of  Daniel  Boone  which  had  reached 
them,  recommended  him,  as  one  eminently  qualified  to 
discharge  the  duties  devolving  on  an  agent;  and  he  was 
employed  in  that  capacity.  At  the  appointed  period,  the 
council  was  held,  and  a  negotiation  commenced,  which  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  transfer,  to  Henderson  and  company,  of  the 
title  of  the  southern  Indians  to  the  land  lying  south  of  the 
Kentucky  river,  and  north  of  the  Tennessee.1 

Boonesborough.  Henderson,  at  the  head  of  thirty  men  conveying  the 
,  wagons  and  supplies,  arrived  at  Boonesborough  April  20;  with  him 
were  Luttsell  and  Nathaniel  Hart.  May  23,  there  met  at  Boonesbor¬ 
ough  the  Legislature  of  Transylvania,  in  which  sat  eighteen  delegates 
from  the  little  group  of  four  frontier  forts,  all  established  at  about  this 
time — Harrodsburg,  Boiling  Springs,  and  St.  Asaph’s  (or  Logan’s  Sta¬ 
tion),  lying  some  thirty  or  more  miles  southwest  of  Boonesborough,  the 
capital  of  this  little  western  colony.  Withers  does  not  mention  this 
first  legislative  assembly  held  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  It  is  an  inter¬ 
esting  and  suggestive  episode  in  American  commonwealth-building,  and 
deserves  careful  study.  Roosevelt  gives  it  admirable  treatment,  in  his 
.  Wirmvng  of  the  West.  The  journal  of  the  convention  is  given  at  length 
in  the  appendix  to  the  second  edition  of  Butler’s  Kentucky;  Hall’s 
Sketches  of  the  West,  i.,  pp.  264,  265;  Louisville  Literary  News-Letter,  June 
6,  1840;  and  Hazard’s  U.  S.  Register,  iii.,  pp.  25-28.  Henderson’s  MS. 
Journal  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  and  has 
never  yet  been  published. 

Virginia  and  North  Carolina  did  not  favor  an  independent  gov¬ 
ernment  in  Kentucky,  and  annulled  the  title  of  the  Henderson  com¬ 
pany — but  Virginia  (1795)  granted  the  proprietors  in  recompense  200,- 
000  acres  on  Powell’s  and  Clinch  rivers. 

We  hear  little  more  of  Richard  Henderson,  in  pioneer  history.  In 
1779,  he  was  one  of  the  North  Carolina  commissioners  to  extend  the 
western  boundary  between  that  State  and  Virginia.  During  the  winter 
of  1789-90  he  was  at  the  French  Lick  on  Cumberland,  where  he  opened 
a.  land  office.  His  last  public  service  was  in  1781,  when  a  member  of 
the  North  Carolina  house  of  commons.  He  died  at  his  country  seat  in 
Granville  County,  N.  C.,  January  30,  1785,  in  his  fiftieth  year.  Two  of 
his  sons,  Archibald  and  Leonard,  attained  eminence  at  the  bar  of  their 
native  State. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Among  Dr.  Draper’s  manuscripts  I  find  this  succinct  review  of  the 

13 


194 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Boone  was  then  placed  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  en¬ 
terprising  men,  sent  to  open  a  road  from  the  Holstein  set¬ 
tlement,  through  the  wilderness,  to  the  Kentucky  river, 

aboriginal  claims  to  Kentucky :  “  There  is  some  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  Catawbas  may  once  have  dwelt  upon  the  Kentucky  River ;  that 
stream,  on  some  of  the  ancient  maps  published  a  hundred  years  ago, 
wras  called  the  ‘  Cuttawa  or  Cawtaba  River.’  But  that  tribe  of  Indians, 
so  far  as  we  know,  never  laid  any  claim  to  the  territory. 

“  It  would  appear  from  the  historical  evidences  extant,  that  the 
Shawanoes  wrere  the  earliest  occupants  of  Kentucky  of  whom  we  have 
any  certain  knowledge.  Colden,  the  primitive  historian  of  the  Iroquois 
Confederacy,  informs  us,  that  when  the  French  commenced  the  first 
settlement  of  Canada  in  1603,  the  Five  Nations,  who  then  resided  near 
the  present  locality  of  Montreal,  were  at  wTar  with  the  powerful  Adi- 
rondacks,  who  at  that  time  lived  three  hundred  miles  above  the  Three 
Rivers,  in  Canada.  The  Iroquois  found  it  difficult  to  withstand  the 
vigorous  attacks  of  their  enemies,  whose  superior  hardihood  was  to  be 
attributed  to  their  constant  devotion  to  the  chase,  while  the  Iroquois 
had  been  chiefly  engaged  in  the  more  peaceful  occupation  of  planting 
corn.  Compelled  to  give  way  before  their  haughty  foes,  the  confeder¬ 
ates  had  recourse  to  the  exercise  of  arms,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  re¬ 
trieve  their  martial  character  and  prowess.  To  raise  the  spirits  of  their 
people,  the  Iroquois  leaders  turned  their  warriors  against  the  Satanas 
or  Shawanoes,  ‘  wTho  then,’  says  Colden,  ‘  lived  on  the  banks  of  the 
lakes,’ — or,  as  other  historians  assert,  in  Western  New  York,  and  south 
of  Lake  Erie, — and  soon  subdued  and  drove  them  out  of  the  country. 
The  Shawranoes  then  retired  to  the  Ohio,  along  which  and  its  tributa¬ 
ries  they  planted  numerous  settlements.  Some  of  them,  however,  when 
driven  from  Western  New  York,  seem  to  have  located  somewhere  on 
the  Delaware,  for  De  Laet,  in  1624,  speaks  of  Sciwanoos  residing  on  that 
river. 

“  The  Jesuit  Relations  of  1661-62,  allude  to  their  residence  in  the 
West  under  the  name  of  Ontouagannha  or  Chaoiianons ;  they  seem  to 
have  been  the  same  as  were  called  Tongorias,  Erighecks,  Erieehonons, 
Eries,  or  Cats,  by  the  early  missionaries  and  historians;  and  the  same, 
moreover,  known  in  the  traditions  of  the  Senecas  as  Gah-kwahs,  who 
.  resided  on  Eighteen  Mile  Creek,  a  few  miles  southwest  of  Buffalo,  in 
Western  New  York,  which  the  Senecas  still  call  Gah-kwah-gig-a-ah 
Creek,  which  means  the  place  where  the  Gah-kwahs  lived.  In  1672,  the 
Shawanoes  and  their  confederates  in  the  Ohio  Valley  met  with  a  disas¬ 
trous  overthrow  by  the  Five  Nations  at  Sandy  Island,  just  below  the 
Falls  of  Ohio,  where  large  numbers  of  human  bones  were  still  to  be 
seen  at  the  first  settlement  of  the  country.  The  surviving  Shawanoes 
must  then  have  retired  still  farther  down  the  Ohio,  and  settled  probably 
in  the  western  part  of  Kentucky;  and  Marquette,  in  1673,  speaks  of 
their  having  twenty-three  villages  in  one  district,  and  fifteen  in  another, 
all  lying  quite  near  each  other.  At  length  the  Shawanoes  departed 
from  Kentucky,  and  seem  to  have  gone  to  the  upper  part  of  the  Caro- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


195 


and  to  take  possession  of  the  company’s  purchase.  When 
within  fifteen  miles  of  the  termination  of  their  journey, 
they  were  attacked  by  a  body  of  northern  Indians,  who 
killed  two  of  Boone’s  comrades,  and  wounded  two  others. 

linas,  and  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  ever  after  proved  a  migratory 
people.  They  were  evidently  ‘  subdued,’  as  Colden,  Evans,  and  Pow- 
nall  inform  us,  and  the  decisive  battle  was  fought  at  Sandy  Island,  where 
a  vital  blow  was  given  to  the  balance  of  power  on  the  Ohio,  which  de¬ 
cided  finally  the  fall  of  Kentucky  with  its  ancient  inhabitants. 

“  It  wTas  this  conquest  that  gave  to  the  powerful  Iroquois  all  the 
title  they  ever  acquired  to  Kentucky.  At  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  in 
1697,  their  right  to  their  western  conquests  was  fully  acknowledged ; 
and  at  the  treaty  of  Lancaster,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1744,  they  ceded  to 
Virginia  all  their  lands  west  of  that  colony.  In  1752,  the  Shawanoes 
and  other  western  tribes,  at  Logstown  on  the  Ohio,  confirmed  the  Lan¬ 
caster  treaty,  and  sold  their  claim  to  the  country  south  of  the  Ohio; 
and,  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  1768,  the  Six  Nations  made  a  new 
cession  of  their  claim  to  Kentucky  as  low  as  the  Cherokee  or  Tennessee 
River.  Up  to  this  period,  the  Cherokees  never  so  much  as  thought  of 
contesting  wTith  the  Iroquois  their  claim  to  the  Kentucky  country ;  for 
some  of  the  visiting  Cherokees,  while  on  their  route  to  attend  the  Fort 
Stanwix  treaty,  killed  game  for  their  subsistence,  and  on  their  arrival 
at  Fort  Stanwdx,  tendered  the  skins  to  the  Six  Nations,  saying,  ‘They 
are  yours,  we  killed  them  after  passing  the  Big  River,’  the  name  by 
which  they  had  always  designated  the  Tennessee.  But  probably  dis¬ 
covering  that  other  Indian  nations  were  driving  a  good  business  by 
disposing  of  their  distant  land  rights,  the  Cherokees  managed  to  hatch 
up  some  sort  of  claim,  which  they,  in  part,  relinquished  to  Virginia,  at 
the  treaty  of  Lochaber  in  1770;  and  when  Col.  Donelson  ran  the  line 
the  following  year,  the  boundary  was  fixed,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
Cherokee  deputies,  on  the  Kentucky  River  as  the  south-western  line,  as 
they  delighted,  they  said,  in  natural  landmarks.  This  considerably  en¬ 
larged  the  cession,  for  -which  they  received  an  additional  compensation. 

“In  1772,  the  Shawanoes  made  no  claim  to  Kentucky;  and  at  the 
treaty  of  Camp  Charlotte,  in  October,  1774,  they  tacitly  confirmed  their 
old  sale  of  that  country  in  1752,  by  agreeing  not  even  to  hunt  south  of 
the  Ohio.  Thus,  then,  we  see  that  the  Iroquois  had  twice  ceded  their 
right  to  Kentucky  as  low  as  the  Tennessee  River,  and  twice  received 
their  pay ;  the  Shawanoes  had  disposed  of  their  claim,  such  as  it  was, 
and  received  for  it  a  valuable  consideration ;  and  the  Cherokees,  find¬ 
ing  it  profitable  to  lay  claim  to  some  valuable  unoccupied  region,  sold 
their  newly  assumed  right  to  the  country  south  and  east  of  Kentucky 
River.  Their  claim,  if  indeed  it  rises  to  the  dignity  of  a  claim,  south 
and  west  of  the  Kentucky,  was  fairly  purchased  by  Henderson  and 
Company,  and  thus  with  the  subsequent  purchase  by  treaty,  of  the 
Chickasaws,  of  the  strip  between  the  Tennessee  and  Mississippi,  the 
Indian  title  to  the  whole  Kentucky  country  was  fully  and  fairly  ex¬ 
tinguished.” — R.  G.  T. 


196 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Two  days  after,  they  were  again  attacked  by  them,  and 
had  two  more  of  their  party  killed  and  three  wounded.1 
From  this  time  they  experienced  no  farther  molestation 
until  they  had  arrived  within  the  limits  of  the  purchase, 
and  erected  a  fort,  at  a  lick  near  the  southern  bank  of  the 
Kentucky  river — the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Boones- 
borough.  Enfeebled  by  the  loss  sustained  in  the  attacks 
made  on  them  by  the  Indians ;  and  worn  down  by  the  con¬ 
tinued  labor  of  opening  a  road  through  an  almost  imper¬ 
vious  wilderness,  it  was  some  time  before  they  could  so  far 
complete  the  fort,  so  as  to  render  it  secure  against  antici¬ 
pated  assaults  of  the  savages,  and  justify  a  detachment  be¬ 
ing  sent  from  the  garrison,  to  escort  the  family  of  Boone 
to  his  new  situation.  When  it  was  thus  far  completed,  an 
office  [143]  was  opened  for  the  sale  of  the  company’s 
land;2  and  Boone  and  some  others  returned  to  Holstein, 
and  from  thence,  guarded  the  family  of  Boone,  through 
the  wilderness,  to  the  newly  erected  fort.  Mrs.  Boone 
and  her  daughter,  are  believed  to  be  the  first  white  females 
who  ever  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky  river.3 

1  The  first  attack  occurred  the  morning  of  March  25,  when  the  party 
were  encamped  near  the  head  of  Taylor’s  Fork  of  Silver  Creek.  Capt. 
Twitty  and  Felix  Walker  were  severely  wounded,  and  a  negro  servant 
killed ;  Twitty  subsequently  died  from  his  wound.  The  other  attack 
was  on  an  outlying  company,  probably  on  Tate’s  Creek ;  this  occurred 
the  27th,  and  “  Thomas  McDowell  and  Jeremiah  McFeeters  were,” 
Boone  wrote  to  Henderson,  “  killed  and  sculped.” — R.  G.  T. 

[143]  2  The  purchase  of  Henderson  and  company,  was  subsequently 
declared  by  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  to  be  null  and  void,  so  far  as  the 
purchasers  were  concerned ;  but  effectual  as  to  the  extinguishment  of 
the  Indian  title,  to  the  territory  thus  bought  of  them.  To  indemnify 
the  purchasers  for  any  advancement  of  money  or  other  things  which 
they  had  made  to  the  Indians,  the  assembly  granted  to  them  200,000 
acres  of  land,  lying  at  the  mouth  of  Green  river,  and  known  generally 
as  Henderson’s  grant. 

.  3  Boone  set  out  from  Boonesborough,  June  13,  lTTfL  He  left  the  set¬ 

tlement  in  a  state  approaching  anarchy ;  there  were  several  good  men  in 
the  district,  but  the  majority  were  shiftless  wanderers  who  would  brook  no 
exercise  of  authority.  The  buffalo  were  fast  moving  westward,  and  all  game 
was  now  getting  scarce — “  hunt  or  starve  ”  was  the  motto  of  the  hour.  A 
»  diarist  (Capt.  Floyd)  estimated  that  there  were  then  a  total  of  300  peo¬ 
ple  in  all  the  Kentucky  settlements — not  reckoning  ‘a  great  many  land- 
'  jobbers  from  towards  Pittsburg,  who  go  about  on  the  north  side  of  Ken¬ 
tucky,  in  companies,  and  build  forty  or  fifty  cabins  a  piece  on  lands 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


197 


In  1775  Benjamin  Logan,  who  had  been  with  Lord 
JDunmore  at  Camp  Charlotte,  visited  Kentucky  and  se¬ 
lected  a  spot  for  his  future  residence,  near  to  the  present 
village  of  Stamford,  erected  thereon  a  fort ;  and  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  year  moved  his  family  thither. 

These  were  the  only  settlements  then  begun  to  be 
made  within  the  limits  of  the  now  state  of  Kentucky.  As 
the  tide  of  emigration  flowed  into  the  country,  those  three 
forts  afforded  an  asylum,  from  the  Indian  hostility  to  which 
the  whites  were  incessantly  subjected;  and  never  perhaps 
lived  three  men  better  qualified  by  nature  and  habit,  to 
resist  that  hostility,  and  preserve  the  settlers  from  cap¬ 
tivity  and  death,  than  James  Harrod,  Daniel  Boone,  and 
Benjamin  Logan.  Beared  in  the  lap  of  danger,  and  early 
inured  to  the  hardships  and  sufferings  of  a  wilderness  life, 
they  were  habitually  acquainted  with  those  arts  which 
were  necessary  to  detect  and  defeat  the  one,  and  to  lessen 
and  alleviate  the  others.  Intrepid  and  fearless,  yet  cau¬ 
tious  and  prudent,  there  was  united  in  each  of  them,  the 
sly,  circumventive  powers  of  the  Indian,  with  the  bold  de¬ 
fiance,  and  open  daring  of  the  whites.  Quick,  almost  to 
intuition,  in  the  perception  of  impending  dangers,  instant 
in  determining,  and  prompt  in  action;  to  see,  to  resolve, 
and  to  execute,  were  with  them  the  work  of  the  same  mo¬ 
ment.  Rife  in  expedients,  the  most  perplexing  difficulties 
rarely  found  them  at  a  loss.  Possessed  of  these  qualities, 
they  were  placed  at  the  head  of  the  little  colonies  planted 
around  them ;  not  by  ambition,  but  by  the  universal  voice 
of  the  people;  from  a  deep  and  thorough  conviction,  that 
they  only  were  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  their  situa- 

where  no  surveying  has  yet  been  done.”  Among  the  best  of  the  nu¬ 
merous  arrivals,  were  George  Rogers  Clark,  Simon  Kenton,  Benjamin 
Logan,  and  Whitley,  who  came  to  be  very  prominent  characters  in  Ken¬ 
tucky  history.  Boone,  with  his  wife  and  daughters,  and  twenty-one 
men,  arrived  at  Boonesborough  September  6  or  7.  “  My  wife  and 

daughters,’  writes  Boone,  “  were  the  first  women  that  ever  stood  on  the 
banks  oi  Kentucky  river.”  Mrs.  McGary,  Mrs.  Hogan,  and  Mrs.  Den¬ 
ton  arrived  at  Harrodsburg  the  8th  of  September,  and  were  the  first 
white  women  in  that  settlement.  With  the  arrival  of  these  families, 
and  fresh  fighting  men,  the  Kentucky  colony  began  to  take  on  a  per¬ 
manent  air,  and  thenceforward  there  was  better  order. — R.  G.  T. 


198 


Withers's  Chronicles 


tion.  The  conviction  was  not  ill  founded.  Their  intel¬ 
lectual  and  physical  resources  were  powerfully  and  con¬ 
stantly  exerted  for  the  preservation  and  security  of  the 
settlements ;  and  frequently,  with  astonishing  success,  un¬ 
der  the  most  inauspicious  circumstances.  Had  they  in¬ 
deed,  by  nature,  been  supine  and  passive,  their  isolated 
situation,  and  the  constantly  repeated  attempts  of  the  In¬ 
dians,  at  their  extermination,  would  have  aroused  them,  as 
it  did  others,  to  activity  and  energy,  and  brought  their 
every  [144]  nerve  into  action.  For  them,  there  were  no 
“  weak,  piping  times  of  peace,” — no  respite  from  danger. 
The  indefatigable  vigilance  and  persevering  hostility  of 
an  unrelenting  foe,  required  countervailing  exertions  on 
their  part ;  and  kept  alive  the  life,  which  they  delighted  to 
live. 

From  the  instant  those  establishments  were  made,  and 
emigrants  placed  themselves  in  their  vicinity,  the  Savages 
commenced  their  usual  mode  of  warfare ;  and  marauding 
parties  were  ever  in  readiness,  to  seize  upon,  those,  whose 
misfortune  it  was  to  become  exposed  to  their  vigilance.  In 
the  prosecution  of  these  hostilities,  incidents  of  the  most 
lively  and  harrowing  interest,  though  limited  in  their  con¬ 
sequences,  were  constantly  recurring;  before  a  systematic 
course  of  operations,  was  undertaken  for  the  destruction 
of  the  settlers. 

The  Indians,  seeing  that  they  had  to  contend  with 
persons,  as  well  skilled  in  their  peculiar  mode  of  warfare, 
as  themselves,  and  as  likely  to  detect  them,  while  lying  in 
wait  for  an  opportunity  to  strike  the  deadly  blow,  as  they 
were  to  strike  it  with  impunity,  they  entirely  changed 
their  plans  of  annoyance.  Instead  of  longer  endeavoring 
to  cut  off  the  whites  in  detail,  they  brought  into  the  coun¬ 
try  a  force,  sufficiently  numerous  and  powerful  to  act  sim¬ 
ultaneously  against  all  the  settlements.  The  consequence 
of  this  was,  much  individual  suffering  and  several  horrid 
massacres.  Husbandmen,  toiling  to  secure  the  product  of 
the  summer’s  labor,  for  their  sustenance  another  season, 
were  frequently  attacked,  and  murdered. — Hunters,  en¬ 
gaged  in  procuring  meat  for  immediate  and  pressing  use. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


199 


were  obliged  to  practise  the  utmost  wariness  to  evade  the 
ambushed  Indian,  and  make  sure  their  return  to  the  fort. 
Springs  and  other  watering  places,  and  the  paths  leading 
to  them,  were  constantly  guarded  by  the  savages ;  who 
would  lie  near  them  day  and  night,  until  forced  to  leave 
their  covert,  in  quest  of  food  to  satisfy  their  extreme 
hunger;  and  who,  when  this  end  was  attained,  would  re¬ 
turn  to  their  hiding  places,  with  renovated  strength,  and 
increased  watchfulness.  The  cattle  belonging  to  the  gar¬ 
risons  were  either  driven  off,  or  killed,  so  that  no  supplies 
could  be  derived  from  them.  This  state  of  things  con¬ 
tinued,  without  intermission,  ’till  the  severity  of  winter 
forced  the  Indians  to  depart  for  their  towns;  and  then  suc¬ 
ceeded,  of  necessity,  a  truce,  which  had  become  extremely 
desirable  to  the  different  settlements. 

When  we  reflect  on  the  dangers,  the  difficulties,  the 
complicated  distresses,  to  which  the  inhabitants  were  then 
exposed,  it  is  really  matter  of  astonishment  that  they  did 
not  abandon  the  country,  and  seek  elsewhere  an  exemp¬ 
tion  from  those  evils.  IIow  women,  with  all  the  feminine 
weakness  of  the  sex,  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  remain 
during  the  winter,  and  encounter  with  the  returning 
spring,  the  returning  horrors  of  savage  warfare,  is  truly 
surprising.  The  frequent  recurrence  of  danger,  does  in¬ 
deed,  produce  a  comparative  insensibility  and  indifference 
to  it;  but  it  is  difficult  to  conceive,  [145]  that  familiarity 
with  the  tragic  scenes  which  were  daily  exhibited  there, 
could  reconcile  persons  to  a  life  of  constant  exposure 
to  them.  Yet  such  was  the  fact;  and  not  only  did  the 
few,  who  were  first  to  venture  on  them,  continue  in  the 
country,  but  others,  equally  adventurous,  moved  to  it;  en¬ 
countering  many  hardships  and  braving  every  danger,  to 
aid  in  maintaining  possession  of  the  modern  Canaan,  and 
to  obtain  a  home  in  that  land  of  milk  and  honey.  If  for 
a  while,  they  flattered  themselves  with  the  hope,  that  the 
ravages  which  had  been  checked  by  winter,  would  not  be 
repeated  on  the  return  of  spring,  they  were  sadly  disap¬ 
pointed.  Hostilities  were  resumed,  as  soon  as  the  abate¬ 
ment  of  cold,  suffered  the  Indians  to  take  the  field;  and 


200 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


were  carried  on  with  renovated  ardor,  and  on  an  enlarged 
scale.1 

Feeling  the  hopelessness  of  extirpating  the  settle¬ 
ments,  so  long  as  the  forts  remained  to  afford  a  safe  retreat 
to  the  inhabitants ;  and  having  learned,  by  the  experience  of 
the  preceding  season,  that  the  whites  were  but  little,  if  at 
all,  inferior  to  them  in  their  own  arts,  and  were  competent 
to  combat  them,  in  their  own  mode  of  warfare,  the  In¬ 
dians  resolved  on  bringing  into  the  country  a  larger  force, 
and  to  direct  their  united  energies  to  the  demolition  of  the 
different  forts.  To  prevent  any  aid  being  afforded  by  the 
other  garrisons,  while  operations  were  leveled  against  one, 
they  resolved  on  detaching  from  their  main  body,  such  a 
number  of  men  as  was  deemed  sufficient  to  keep  watch 
around  the  other  forts,  and  awe  their  inmates  from  attempt¬ 
ing  to  leave  them,  on  any  occasion.  This  was  a  course  of 
excellent  policy.  It  was  calculated  not  only  to  prevent  the 
marching  of  any  auxiliary  forces  from  one  to  the  other  of 
the  fortresses,  but  at  the  same  time  by  preventing  hunting 
parties  from  ranging  the  woods,  cut  off  the  principal  source, 
from  which  their  supplies  were  derived;  and  thus  tended 
to  render  their  fall,  the  more  certain  and  easy. 

Accordingly  in  March  1777,  they  entered  Kentucky 
with  a  force  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  warriors ;  and 
sending  some  of  their  most  expert  and  active  men  to 
watch  around  Boone’s  and  Logan’s  forts,  marched  with 


1  In  the  winter  of  1776-77,  McClelland’s  Station  and  Logan’s  Station, 
(indifferently  styled  Fort  or  Station)  were  abandoned  because  of  Indian 
•  attacks,  and  the  settlers  huddled  into  Boonesborough  and  Harrodsburg —  . 
although  possibly  Price’s  settlement,  on  the  Cumberland,  maintained  a 
separate  existence  throughout  the  winter.  There  were  at  this  time  not  to 
exceed  a  hundred  and  fifty  white  men  in  the  country,  available  for 
active  militia  duty.  As  during  January  and  February,  1777,  the  Indians 
were  quiet,  confidence  was  restored  in  some  degree,  and  during  the  latter 
month,  Logan,  with  his  own  and  some  half  dozen  other  families,  left  Har¬ 
rodsburg  and  re-occupied  Logan’s  Station.  Thus  far,  each  settlement  had 
chosen  its  own  military  leader,  and  discipline  was  practically  unknown. 
March  5,  under  order  and  commissions  from  Virginia,  the  militia  of 
Kentucky  county  were  assembled  and  organized  at  Boonesborough, 
Harrodsburg,  and  Logan’s  Station,  with  George  Rogers  Clark  as  major, 
and  Daniel  Boone,  James  Harrod,  John  Todd,  and  Benjamin  Logan  as 
captains. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


201 


the  chief  part  of  their  army  to  attack  Harrodsburg.  On 
the  14th  of  March  three  persons  (who  were  engaged  in 
clearing  some  land)  not  far  from  llarrod’s  fort,  discovered 
the  Indians  proceeding  through  the  woods,  and  sought  to 
escape  observation  and  convey  the  intelligence  to  the  gar¬ 
rison.  But  they  too,  were  discovered  and  pursued ;  and 
one  of  them  was  killed,  another  taken  prisoner,  and  the 
third  (James,  afterwards  Gen.  Ray,  then  a  mere  youth) 
reached  Harrodsburg  alone  in  safety.1  Aware  that  the 
place  had  become  alarmed,  and  that  they  had  then  no 
chance  of  operating  on  it,  by  surprise,  they  encamped  near 
to  it  on  that  evening ;  and  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
15th  commenced  a  furious  and  animated  attack. 

Apprized  of  the  near  approach  of  the  enemy,  the  gar¬ 
rison  had  made  every  preparation  for  defense,  of  which 
their  situation  admitted ;  and  when  the  assailants  rushed 
to  the  assault,  not  intimidated  by  their  horrible  and  un¬ 
natural  yells,  nor  yet  dispirited  by  the  [146]  presence  of  a 
force  so  far  superior  to  their  own,  they  received  them  with 
a  fire  so  steady  and  well  directed,  as  forced  them  to  recoil ; 
leaving  one  of  their  slain  on  the  field  of  attack.  This 
alone,  argued  a  great  discomfiture  of  the  Indians;  as  it  is 
well  known  to  be  their  invariable  custom,  to  remove,  if 
practicable,  those  of  their  warriors  who  fall  in  battle. 
Their  subsequent  movements,  satisfied  the  inmates  of  the 
fort,  that  there  had  been  indeed  a  discomfiture  ;  and  that 
they  had  but  little  to  apprehend  from  a  renewed  assault 
on  their  little  fortress.  After  reconnoitering  for  a  while, 
at  a  prudent  distance  from  the  garrison,  the  Indians  kin¬ 
dled  their  fires  for  the  night;  and  in  the  following  day, 
leaving  a  small  party  for  the  purpose  of  annoyance,  de¬ 
camped  with  the  main  body  of  their  army,  and  marched 

1  This  foray  took  place  March  6— not  the  14th,  as  in  the  text — at 
Shawnee  Springs,  four  miles  north-east  of  Harrodsburg.  The  whites — 
James  Ray,  William  Ray,  Thomas  Shores,  and  William  Coomes — were 
sugar-making,  when  attacked  by  about  seventy  Shawnees,  under  Black 
Fish.  William  Ray  was  killed,  and  Shores  taken  prisoner.  James  Ray 
outran  his  pursuers  and  gave  the  alarm.  The  unsuccessful  attack  on  » 
the  incomplete  fort  of  Harrodsburg  occurred  early  the  following  morn-  , 
ing,  the  7th.  Other  brief  attacks  on  Harrodsburg,  wrere  on  March  18 
and  28.— R.  G.  T. 


202 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


towards  Boonesborough.1  In  consequence  however,  of  a 
severe  spell  of  March  weather,  they  were  forced  to  remain 
inactive  fora  time;  and  did  not  make  their  appearance 
there,  until  the  middle  of  April. 

In  the  assault  on  Boone’s  fort,  the  Indians  soon  be¬ 
came  satisfied  that  it  wTas  impregnable  against  them;  and 
although  their  repulse  was  not  as  signal  here,  as  it  had 
been  at  Harrodsburg,  yet  they  soon  withdrew  from  the 
contest,  and  marched  towards  Logan’s  fort, — having  killed 
one  and  wounded  four,  of  the  whites.2 

Several  causes  combined  to  render  an  attack  on  the 
fort  at  Logan’s  station,  an  event  of  most  fearful  conse¬ 
quence.3  Its  inmates  had  been  but  a  short  time  in  the 
country,  and  were  not  provided  with  an  ample  supply 
either  of  provisions  or  ammunition.  They  were  few  in 
number;  and  though  of  determined  spirit  and  undaunted 
fortitude,  yet  such  wras  the  disparity  between  thirteen  and 
tvro  hundred — the  force  of  the  garrison  and  the  force  of 
the  assailants,  joined  to  their  otherwise  destitute  situation, 
that  hope  itself,  could  scarcely  live  in  so  perilous  a  situ¬ 
ation.  Had  this  been  the  first  point,  against  which  the 
enemy  levelled  their  operations  when  they  arrived  in  the 
country,  it  must  have  fallen  before  them.  But  by  deferring 
the  attack  on  it,  ’till  they  had  been  repulsed  at  the  two 
other  forts,  the  garrison  was  allowed  time ;  and  availing 
themselves  of  it,  to  fortify  their  position  more  strongly, 
the  issue  was  truly,  most  fortunate,  though  unexpected. 

On  the  night  preceding  the  commencement  of  the  at¬ 
tack  on  the  fort,  the  Indians  had  approached  near  to  it 
unperceived,  and  secreted  themselves  in  a  cane  brake, 
which  had  been  suffered  to  remain  around  the  cabins. 

1  A  small  detachment  from  Black  Fish’s  party  made  a  dash  on 
workers  in  the  Boonesborough  fields,  the  day  after  the  Harrodsburg 
fight — killing  a  negro,  and  wounding  several  whites. — R.  G.  T. 

2  This  assault  on  Boonesborough  occurred  the  morning  of  Thursday, 
April  24.  The  Indians  numbered  about  one  hundred.  Boone  was 
wounded,  and  very  nearly  lost  his  life,  in  a  sortie.  The  story  of  the 
fight  abounds  with  instances  of  heroism  on  the  part  of  both  women  and 
men. — R.  G.  T. 

3  It  occurred  throughout  Friday,  May  30.  The  Indians  are  re¬ 
ported  to  have  numbered  fifty-seven. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


203 


Early  in  the  morning  the  women,  went  out  to  milk, 
guarded  by  most  of  the  garrison ;  and  before  they  were 
aware  of  impending  danger,  the  concealed  Indians  opened 
a  general  fire,  which  killed  three  of  the  men,  and  drove 
the  others,  hastily  within  the  fort.1  A  most  affecting 
spectacle  was  then  presented  to  view,  well  calculated  to 
excite  the  sympathies  of  human  nature,  and  arouse  to 
action  a  man  possessed  of  the  generous  sensibility  and  no¬ 
ble  daring,  which  animated  the  bosom  of  Logan. 

One  of  the  men  who  had  fallen  on  the  first  fire  of 
the  Indians  and  had  been  supposed  by  his  comrades  to  be 
dead,  was  in  truth  though  [147]  badly  wounded,  yet  still 
alive ;  and  was  observed  feebly  struggling  to  crawl  to¬ 
wards  the  fort.  The  fear  of  laceration  and  mangling  from 
the  horrid  scalping  knife,  and  of  tortures  from  more  bar¬ 
barous  instruments,  seemed  to  abate  his  exertions  in  drag¬ 
ing  his  wounded  body  along,  lest  he  should  be  discovered 
and  borne  off*  by  some  infuriated  and  unfeeling  savage. 
It  was  doubtful  too,  whether  his  strength  would  endure 
long  enough  to  enable  him  to  reach  the  gate,  even  if  un¬ 
molested  by  any  apprehension  of  danger.  The  magnani¬ 
mous  and  intrepid  Logan  resolved  on  making  an  effort  to 
save  him.  He  endeavored  to  raise  volunteers,  to  accom¬ 
pany  him  without  the  fort,  and  bring  in  their  poor 
wounded  companion.  It  seemed  as  if  courting  the  quick 
embrace  of  death,  and  even  his  adventurous  associates 
for  an  instant,  shrunk  from  the  danger.  At  length  a  man 

1  Those  who  went  out  early  in  the  morning  to  milk  the  cows,  were 
Mrs.  Ann  Logan,  Mrs.  Whitley,  and  a  negro  woman.  They  were  guarded 
only  by  William  Hudson,  Burr  Harrison,  John  Kennedy,  and  James 
Craig.  The  women  and  Craig  escaped  into  the  fort  unharmed  ;  Ken¬ 
nedy,  with  four  balls  in  his  body,  contrived  also  to  escape ;  Hudson 
was  killed  outright,  and  Harrison  fell  wounded.  He  was  supposed  by 
friend  and  foe  to  have  been  killed.  The  story  of  his  final  rescue  by 
Logan,  is  related  by  Withers  below.  As  told  to  Dr.  Draper,  by  Capt. 
Benjamin  Biggs,  and  as  recorded  in  Whitley’s  MS.  Narrative,  in  pos¬ 
session  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  the  story  in  Withers  is 
substantially  correct.  It  is  said  that  Logan  rolled  a  bag  of  wool  before 
him,  and  thus  approached  Harrison  undercover;  then  making  a  rush 
towards  the  latter,  he  picked  him  up  in  his  arms  and  dashed  success¬ 
fully  into  the  fort.  These  accounts  make  no  mention  of  Martin’s  inter¬ 
vention.  Harrison  died  of  his  wounds,  June  13. — R.  G.  T. 


204 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


by  the  name  of  Martin,  who  plumed  himself  on  rash  and 
daring  deeds,  consented  to  aid  in  the  enterprise;  and  the 
two  proceeded  towards  the  gate.  Here  the  spirit  of  Mar¬ 
tin  forsook  him,  and  he  recoiled  from  the  hazardous  ad¬ 
venture.  Logan  was  then  alone.  He  beheld  the  feeble, 
but  wary  exertions  of  his  unfortunate  comrade,  entirely 
subside;  and  he  could  not  hesitate.  lie  rushed  quickly 
through  the  gate,  caught  the  unhappy  victim  in  his  arms, 
and  bore  him  triumphantly  into  the  fort,  amid  a  shower 
of  bullets  aimed  at  him ;  and  some  of  which  buried  them¬ 
selves  in  the  pallisades  close  by  his  head.  A  most  noble 
and  disinterested  achievement,  and  worthy  of  all  com¬ 
mendation.1 

[148]  The  siege  being  maintained  by  the  Indians,  the 
animation  of  the  garrison  was  nearly  exhausted,  in  re¬ 
pelling  the  frequent  assaults  made  on  the  fort;  and  it  was 
apparent,  that  the  enemy  did  not  intend  speedily  to  with¬ 
draw  their  forces.  Parties  of  Indians  were  frequently 
detached  from  the  main  body,  as  well  to  obtain  a  supply 
of  provisions  by  hunting,  as  to  intercept  and  cut  off  any 

[147]  1  Benjamin  Logan  was  by  birth  a  Virginian ;  and  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  was  left  by  the  death  of  his  father,  to  provide  for  his  mother 
and  her  other  children,  and  with  the  other  cares  of  a  family  upon  his 
infant  hands.  He  discharged  the  duties  thus  devolving  on  him,  with 
the  utmost  fidelity ;  and  having  provided  amply  for  the  support  of  his 
mother,  and  placed  the  other  members  of  her  household  in  eligible 
situations,  he  removed  to  the  Holstein,  married,  purchased  land,  and 
commenced  making  improvements.  From  thence  he  went  to  Kentucky, 
where  he  spent  the  balance  of  his  life,  in  the  discharge  of  every  social 
and  relative  duty,  with  credit  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  com¬ 
munity.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  legislature  from  the  county 
of  Kentucky  in  1780;  was  soon  after  commissioned  county  Lieutenant, 
(then  the  highest  military  title  in  the  militia  of  a  county)  and  in  the 
various  battles,  as  well  as  in  the  many  skirmishes,  which  he  fought  with 
the  Indians,  his  conduct  and  bearing  were  such,  as  fully  established  for 
him  the  reputation  of  a  brave,  skilful,  prudent  and  meritorious  officer. 
In  private  life,  and  in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men,  his  whole 
course  was  distinguished  by  the  most  uncompromising  honor,  and  ex¬ 
panded  philanthrophy.  The  heroic  adventure,  by  which  he  saved  his 
wounded  comrade,  from  the  tomahawk,  the  scalping  knife,  and  from 
fire,  was  but  one  of  many  such  exploits,  whereby  he  achieved  good  to 
others,  at  the  most  imminent  hazard  of  his  own  life. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


205 


aid,  which  might  he  sent  to  St.  Asaph’s1  from  the  other 
forts.  In  this  posture  of  affairs,  it  was  impossible  that  the 
garrison  could  long  hold  out,  unless  its  military  stores 
could  be  replenished;  and  to  effect  this,  under  existing 
circumstances,  appeared  to  he  almost  impossible.  Har- 
rodsburg  and  Boonesborough  were  not  themselves  amply 
provided  with  stores  ;  and  had  it  been  otherwise,  so  closely 
was  the  intermediate  country  between  them  and  St.  Asaph’s, 
guarded  by  the  savages,  that  no  communication  could  be 
carried  from  one  to  the  other  of  them.  The  settlement  on 
the  Holstein  was  the  nearest  point,  from  which  it  could  be 
practicable  to  derive  a  supply  of  ammunition,  and  the 
distance  to  that  neighborhood,  was  considerable. 

Logan  knew  the  danger  which  must  result  to  the  gar¬ 
rison,  from  being  weakened  as  much  as  it  must  be,  by 
sending  a  portion  of  it  on  this  hazardous  enterprise ;  but 
he  also  knew,  that  the  fort  could  not  be  preserved  from 
falling,  unless  its  magazine  was  soon  replenished.  Prefer- 
ing  the  doubtful  prospect  of  succeeding  in  its  relief,  by 
adopting  the  plan  of  sending  to  Holstein,  he  proposed  the 
measure  to  his  companions,  and  they  eagerly  embraced  it. 
It  remained  then  to  select  the  party,  which  was  to  venture 
on  this  high  enterprise.  Important  as  the  presence  of 
Logan,  was  known  to  be,  in  the  fort,  yet  as  the  lives  of  all 
within,  depended  on  the  success  of  the  expedition  and  as 
to  effect  this,  required  the  exercise  of  qualities  rarely  pos¬ 
sessed  in  so  great  degree  by  any  other  individual,  he  was 
unanimously  chosen  to  conduct  the  enterprise. 

Accompanied  by  four  of  the  garrison,  Logan,  as  slyly 
as  possible,  slipped  from  the  fort,  and  commenced  his  tedi¬ 
ous  journey.2  To  lessen  the  chance  of  coming  in  contact 

[148]  1  This  was  the  name  given  to  the  station  of  Logan. 

2  Whitley’s  MS.  Narrative  and  Cowan’s  MS.  Diary,  in  the  Wisconsin 
Historical  Society’s  library,  say  that  Logan  left  alone  during  the  night 
of  June  6.  Logan  returned  to  his  fort  on  the  23d,  having  travelled 
almost  incessantly,  and  brought  news  that  relief  would  soon  come. 
Soon  after  Logan’s  expedition  to  the  Holston,  other  messengers  were 
sent  to  the  East,  clamoring  for  help — McGary  and  Hoggin  to  Fort  Pitt, 
and  Smith  to  the  Yadkin ;  and  twice  Harrod  vainly  went  forth  to  meet 
expected  troops.  But  the  Continental  army  was  hard  pressed  in  those 
days,  and  despite  the  rumor  on  the  coast  that  Kentucky  was  in  a  sad 
way,  it  was  long  before  relief  could  be  sent. — R.  G.  T. 


206 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


with  straggling  hands  of  Indians,  he  avoided  the  pack 
road  which  had  been  opened  by  Boone ;  and  pursuing  an 
untrodden  route,  reached  the  settlement  in  safety.  The 
requisite  supplies  were  soon  engaged  ;  and  while  they  were 
being  prepared  for  transportation,  Logan  was  actively  en¬ 
gaged  in  endeavoring  to  prevail  on  the  inhabitants,  to  form 
a  company  as  expeditiously  as  possible  and  march  to  their 
relief.  With  a  faint  promise  of  assistance,  and  with  the 
assurance  that  their  situation  should  he  immediately  made 
known  to  the  executive  authority  of  the  state,  he  set  off 
on  his  return.  Confiding  the  ammunition  which  he  had 
obtained,  to  the  care  of  his  companions,  and  prudently  ad¬ 
vising  and  instructing  them  in  the  course  best  to  be  pur¬ 
sued,  he  left  them,  and  hastened  to  make  his  way  alone, 
hack  to  St.  Asaph.  In  ten  days  after  his  departure  from 
the  fort,  he  returned  to  it  again ;  and  his  [149]  presence 
contributed  much  to  revive  and  encourage  the  garrison; 
’till  then  in  almost  utter  despair  of  obtaining  relief.  In  a 
few  days  after,  the  party  arrived  with  the  ammunition,  and 
succeeded  in  entering  the  fort  unperceived  ;  though  it  was 
still  surrounded  by  the  Indians.  With  so  much  secrecy 
and  caution  had  the  enterprise  been  conducted,  that  the 
enemy  never  knew  it  had  been  undertaken,  until  it  was 
happily  accomplished. 

For  some  time  after  this  the  garrison  continued  in 
high  expectation  of  seeing  the  besiegers  depart,  despairing 
of  making  any  impression  on  the  fort.  But  they  were 
mistaken  in  this  expectation.  Each  returning  day  shewed 
the  continued  investiture  of  the  fort,  and  exhibited  the 
Indians  as  pertinaciously  intent  on  its  reduction  by  assault 
or  famine,  as  they  were  on  the  day  of  their  arrival  before 
it.  Weeks  elapsed,  and  there  was  no  appearance  of  the 
succours  which  had  been  promised  to  Logan,  when  in  the 
settlement  on  Holstein.  And  although  the  besieged  were 
still  successful  in  repelling  every  assault  on  the  garrison, 
yet  their  stock  of  provisions  was  almost  entirely  exhausted ; 
and  there  was  no  chance  of  obtaining  a  farther  supply,  but 
from  the  woods  around  them.  To  depend  on  the  success 
of  hunting  parties,  to  relieve  their  necessities  and  prevent 
their  actual  starvation  or  surrender,  seemed  indeed,  but  a 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


207 


slender  reed  on  which  to  rely ;  and  the  gloom  of  despond¬ 
ency  overshadowed  their  hitherto  sanguine  countenances. 
But  as  they  were  resigning  themselves  to  despair,  and  yield¬ 
ing  up  the  last  hope  of  being  able  to  escape  from  savage  fury 
and  savage  vengeance,  Colonel  Bowman  arrived  to  their  re¬ 
lief,  and  forced  the  Indians  to  raise  the  siege.  It  was  not 
however,  without  some  loss  on  his  part.  A  detachment 
of  his  men,  which  had  preceded  the  advance  of  the  main 
army,  was  unfortunately  unable  to  reach  the  fort,  undis¬ 
covered  by  the  besiegers ;  who  attacked  and  killed  them 
before  they  could  enter  the  garrison.  On  the  body  of  one 
of  these  men,  was  left  a  proclamation,  issued  by  the  Gov¬ 
ernor  of  Detroit  promising  protection  and  reward  to  those 
who  would  renounce  the  cause  of  the  American  colonies, 
and  espouse  that  of  Great  Britain ;  and  denouncing  those 
who  would  not.  When  this  proclamation  was  carried  to 
Logan,  he  carefully  kept  secret  its  contents,  lest  it  might 
produce  an  unfavorable  effect  on  the  minds  of  some  of  his 
men  ;  worn  down,  exhausted,  and  discouraged  as  they  then 
were.1 

[150]  After  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Bowman  in  the 
country,  there  was  for  a  time,  a  good  deal  of  skirmishing 
between  his  forces,  aided  by  individuals  from  the  different 
forts,  and  those  Indians.  In  all  of  them,  the  superiority 
of  the  whites  in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  became  apparent  to 
the  savages;  and  as  the  feat  of  Captain  Gibson  with  the 
sword,  had  previously  acquired  for  the  Virginians,  the 
appellation  of  the  Long  Knives,2  the  fatal  certainty,  with 
which  Bowman’s  men  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  various 
settlements  in  Kentucky,  then  aimed  their  shots,  might 
have  added  to  that  title,  the  forcible  epithet  of  sharp- 

1  Bowman  arrived  at  Boonesborough  the  first  of  August,  with  two 
companies  from  Virginia,  under  Capts.  Henry  Pauling  and  John  Dun- 
kin — the  latter  being  soon  succeeded  by  Isaac  Ruddell.  The  force  num¬ 
bered  100  men.  August  25,  while  six  of  Bowman’s  men  were  on 
their  way  to  Logan’s,  they  were  attacked  by  Indians,  two  being  killed 
and  one  -wounded.  Before  escaping,  the  Indians  left  on  the  body  of 
one  of  the  men,  several  copies  of  a  proclamation  addressed  to  Clark  and 
Logan  in  person,  by  Lieut.-Gov.  Henry  Hamilton,  at  the  head  of  the 
British  forces  at  Detroit,  offering  immunity  to  repentant  rebels. — R.  G.T. 

2  See  pp.  79,  80,  note ,  for  origin  of  the  term  “  Long  Knives.” — R.  G.  T. 


208 


Withers's  Chronicles 


shooters.  They  were  as  skilful  and  successful,  too,  in  the 
practice  of  those  arts,  by  which  one  is  enabled  to  steal  un¬ 
aware  upon  his  enemy,  as  the  Natives  themselves;  and 
were  equally  as  sure  to  execute  the  purposes,  for  which 
those  arts  were  put  in  requisition,  as  these  were.  The 
consequence  was,  that  the  Indians  were  not  only  more  shy 
in  approaching  the  garrison,  than  they  had  been ;  but 
they  likewise  became,  more  cautious  and  circumspect,  in 
their  woods  operations,  than  formerly. 

The  frequent  success  of  Colonel  Bowman’s  men,  in 
scouring  the  surrounding  country,  gave  to  the  inhabitants 
of  all  the  settlements,  an  opportunity  of  cultivating  their 
little  fields,  and  of  laying  in  such  a  stock  of  provisions 
and  military  stores,  as  would  suffice  in  the  hour  of  need ; 
when  that  force  should  be  withdrawn  from  the  country, 
and  the  Indians  consequently  be  again  enabled  to  overrun 
it.  All  that  the  inhabitants,  by  reason  of  the  paucity  of 
their  numbers,  could  yet  do,  was  to  shut  themselves  in 
forts,  and  preserve  these  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  When  the  term  of  those,  who  had  so  opportunely 
came  to  their  relief,  expired,  and  they  returned  to  their 
homes,  there  were  at  Boonsborough  only  twenty-two,  at  * 
Harrodsburg  sixty-five,  and  at  St.  Asaph’s  fifteen  men.  , 
Emigrants  however,  flocked  to  the  country  during  the  en-  « 
suing  season,  in  great  numbers;  and  their  united  strength 
enabled  them  the  better  to  resist  aggression,  and  conduct 
the  various  operations  of  husbandry  and  hunting — then 
the  only  occupations  of  the  men. 

While  these  things  were  transacting  in  Kentucky, 
North  Western  Virginia  enjoyed  a  repose  undisturbed, 
save  by  the  conviction  of  the  moral  certainty,  that  it 
would  be  again  involved  in  all  the  horrors  of  savage  war¬ 
fare ;  and  that  too,  at  no  distant  period.  The  machina¬ 
tions  of  British  agents,  to  [151]  produce  this  result,  were 
well  known  to  be  gaining  advocates  daily,  among  the  sav¬ 
ages  ;  and  the  hereditary  resentments  of  these,  were  known 
to  be  too  deeply  seated,  for  the  victory  of  Point  Pleasant 
to  have  produced  their  eradication,  and  to  have  created  in 
their  stead,  a  void,  to  become  the  future  receptacle  of 
kindlier  feelings,  towards  their  Virginia  neighbors.  A 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


209 


coalition  of  the  many  tribes  north  west  of  the  Ohio  river, 
had  been  some  time  forming,  and  the  assent  of  the  Shaw- 
anees,  alone,  was  wanting  to  its  perfection.  The  distin¬ 
guished  Sachem  at  the  head  of  that  nation,  was  opposed 
to  an  alliance  with  the  British,  and  anxious  to  preserve  a 
friendly  intercourse  with  the  colonists.  All  his  influence, 
with  all  his  energy,  wras  exerted,  to  prevent  his  brethren 
from  again  involving  themselves,  in  a  war  with  the  whites. 
But  it  wTas  likely  to  be  in  vain.  Many  of  his  warriors  had 
fallen  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kenhawa,  and  his  people  had 
suffered  severely  during  the  continuance  of  that  war;  they 
were  therefore,  too  intent  on  retaliation,  to  listen  to  the 
sage  counsel  of  their  chief.  In  this  posture  of  affairs, 
Cornstalk,  in  the  spring  of  1777,  visited  the  fort,  which 
had  been  erected  at  Point  Pleasant  after  the  campaign  of 
1774,  in  company  with  the  Bed  Hawk,  and  another  In¬ 
dian.  Captain  Matthew  Arbuckle  was  then  commandant 
of  the  garrison ;  and  when  Cornstalk  communicated  to 
him  the  hostile  preparations  of  the  Indians, — that  the 
Shawanees  alone  were  wanting  to  render  a  confederacy 
complete, — that,  as  the  “  current  set  so  strongly  against 
the  colonies,  even  they  would  float  with  the  stream  in  de¬ 
spite  of  his  endeavors  to  stem  it,”  and  that  hostilities 
would  commence  immediately,  he  deemed  it  prudent  to 
detain  him  and  his  companions  as  hostages,  for  the  peace 
and  neutrality  of  the  different  tribes  of  Indians  in  Ohio. 
He  at  the  same  time  acquainted  the  newly  organized  gov¬ 
ernment  of  Virginia,  with  the  information  which  he  had 
received  from  Cornstalk,  and  the  course  which  he  had 
taken  with  that  chief,  and  the  others  who  accompanied 
him  to  the  garrison. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence,  it  'was  resolved, 
if  volunteers  could  be  had  for  this  purpose,  to  march  an 
army  into  the  Indian  country  and  effectually  accomplish 
the  objects,  which  had  been  proposed  to  be  achieved  in  the 
campaign  of  Lord  Dunmore  in  1774.  The  volunteers  in 
Augusta  and  Bottetourt,  were  to  rendezvous  as  early  as 
possible,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kenhawa,  where  they 
would  be  joined  by  [152]  other  troops  under  General 
14 


LUO 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Hand, 1  who  would  then  assume  the  command  of  the  whole 
expedition. 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolve,  three  or  four  companies 
only,  were  raised  in  the  counties  of  Bottetourt  and  Au¬ 
gusta;  and  these  immediately  commenced  their  march,  to 
the  place  of  general  rendezvous,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  George  Skillern.  In  the  Greenbrier  country,  great 
exertions  were  made  by  the  militia  officers  there,  to  obtain 
volunteers,  but  with  little  effect.  One  company  only  was 
formed,  consisting  of  thirty  men,  and  the  officers,  laying 
aside  all  distinctions  of  rank,  placed  themselves  in  the  line 
as  common  soldiers,  and  proceeded  to  Point  Pleasant  with 
the  troops  led  on  by  Colonel  Skillern.  Upon  their  arrival 
at  that  place,  nothing  had  been  heard  of  General  Hand, 
or  of  the  forces  which  it  was  expected  would  accompany 
him  from  Fort  Pitt ;  and  the  volunteers  halted,  to  await 
some  intelligence  from  him. 

1  Edward  Hand  was  born  in  Ireland.  He  came  to  America  in  1774 
as  a  surgeon’s  mate  in  the  Eighth  (Royal  Irish)  Regiment,  and  soon  set¬ 
tled  in  Pennsylvania  as  a  physician.  When  the  Revolution  broke  out 
he  joined  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  as  lieutenant  colonel,  and  served  in 
the  siege  of  Boston.  In  April,  1777,  he  was  appointed  brigadier-general 
in  the  Continental  army,  and  the  first  of  June  assumed  command  of 
Fort  Pitt.  Lieut.-Gov.  Henry  Hamilton,  of  Detroit,  under  orders  from 
London,  was  actively  engaged  in  stirring  up  the  Northwest  Indians  to 
forays  on  the  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  borders,  thus  harrying  the 
Americans  in  the  rear.  Hand,  in  whose  charge  was  the  frontier  from 
Ivittanning  to  the  Great  Kanawha,  determined  on  an  aggressive  policy, 
and  in  February,  1778,  undertook  a  campaign  against  the  savages.  An 
open  winter,  with  heavy  rains,  prevented  the  force  of  about  500  men — 
chiefly  from  Westmoreland  county — making  satisfactory  headway.  Fi¬ 
nally,  the  expedition  was  abandoned  when  it  had  proceeded  no 
farther  than  Mahoning  Creek.  From  the  fact  that  this  first  American 
movement  against  the  savages,  during  the  Revolution,  resulted  only  in 
the  capture  of  non-combatants,  in  the  almost  deserted  villages,  it  was 
long  known  as  “  the  squaw  campaign.”  Hand  was  a  competent  offi¬ 
cer,  but  was  much  pestered,  at  Fort  Pitt,  with  the  machinations  of 
tories,  who  were  numerous  among  the  borderers.  Succeeded  at  Fort 
Pitt  in  1778,  by  Brig.-Gen.  Lachlan  McIntosh,  Hand  in  turn  succeeded 
Stark  in  command  at  Albany.  We  find  him,  in  1779,  actively  engaged 
on  Sullivan’s  campaign  against  the  New  York  Indians,  and  in  1780  he 
became  adjutant  general.  A  member  of  congress  in  1784-85,  he  was  in 
1790  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
died  at  Rockford,  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  September  3,  1802 — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


211 


The  provisions,  for  the  support  of  the  army  in  its  pro¬ 
jected  invasion  of  the  Indian  country,  were  expected  to  be 
brought  down  the  river,  from  Fort  Pitt;  and  the  troops 
under  Colonel  Skillern  had  only  taken  with  them,  what 
was  deemed  sufficient  for  their  subsistence  on  their  march 
to  the  place  of  rendezvous.  This  stock  was  nearly  ex- 
haused,  and  the  garrison  was  too  illy  supplied,  to  admit  of 
their  drawing  on  its  stores. — While  thus  situated,  and 
anxiously  awaiting  the  arrival  of  General  Hand  with  his 
army  and  provisions,  the  officers  held  frequent  conversa¬ 
tions  with  Cornstalk,  who  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  ac¬ 
quainting  them  with  the  geography  of  the  country  west  of 
the  Ohio  river  generally,  and  more  particularly  with  that 
section  of  it  lying  between  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri 
rivers.  One  afternoon  while  he  was  engaged  in  delineat¬ 
ing  on  the  floor  a  map  of  that  territory,  with  the  various 
water  courses  emptying  into  those  two  mighty  streams, 
and  describing  the  face  of  the  country,  its  soil  and  climate, 
a  voice  was  heard  hallooing  from  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
Ohio,  which  he  immediately  recognised  to  be  that  of  his 
son  Ellinipsico,  and  who  coming  over  at  the  instance  of 
Cornstalk,  embraced  him  most  affectionately.  Uneasy  at 
the  long  absence  of  his  father,  and  fearing  that  some  un- 
forseen  evil  might  have  befallen  him,  he  had  come  to  learn 
some  tidings  of  him  here ;  knowing  that  it  was  the  place, 
to  go  to  which  he  had  left  the  nation.  His  visit  was 
prompted  by  feelings  [153]  which  do  honor  to  human  na¬ 
ture — anxious  solicitude  for  a  father, — but  it  was  closed  by 
a  most  terrible  catastrophe. 

On  the  day  after  the  arrival  of  Ellinipsico,  and  while 
he  was  yet  in  the  garrison,  two  men,  from  Captain  Hall’s 
company  of  Rockbridge  volunteers,  crossed  the  Kenhawa 
river  on  a  hunting  excursion.  As  they  were  returning  to 
the  canoe  for  the  purpose  of  recrossing  to  the  Fort,  after 
the  termination  of'  the  hunt,  Gilmore  was  espied  by  two 
Indians,  concealed  near  the  bank,  who  fired  at,  killed  and 
scalped  him.  At  that  instant,  Captains  Arbuckle  and 
Stuart  (the  latter  having  accompanied  the  Greenbrier  vol¬ 
unteers  as  a  private  soldier)  were  standing  on  the  point 
opposite  to  where  lay  the  canoe  in  which  Hamilton  and 


212 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


Gilmore  had  crossed  the  river ;  and  expressed  some  aston¬ 
ishment  that  the  men  should  be  so  indiscreet  as  to  be 
shooting  near  to  the  encampment,  contrary  to  commands. 
They  had  scarcely  time  to  express  their  disapprobation  at 
the  supposed  violation  of  orders,  when  Hamilton  was  seen 
running  down  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  heard  to  exclaim, 
that  Gilmore  was  killed.  A  party  of  Captain  Hall’s  men 
immediately  sprang  into  a  canoe  and  went  over  to  relieve 
Hamilton  from  danger,  and  to  bring  the  body  of  Gilmore 
to  the  encampment.  Before  they  relanded  with  the  bloody 
corpse  of  Gilmore,  a  cry  arose,  “let  us  go  and  kill  the  In¬ 
dians  in  the  fort;”  and  pale  with  rage  they  ascended  the 
bank,  with  captain  Hall  at  their  head,  to  execute  their 
horrid  purpose.  It  was  vain  to  remonstrate.  To  the  in¬ 
terference  of  Captains  Arbuckle  and  Stuart  to  prevent  the 
fulfilling  of  this  determination,  they  responded,  by  cocking 
their  guns,  and  threatening  instant  death  to  any  one  who 
should  dare  to  oppose  them. 

The  interpreter’s  wife,  (who  had  lately  returned  from 
Indian  captivity,  and  seemed  to  entertain  a  feeling  of  affec¬ 
tion  for  Cornstalk  and  his  companions)  seeing  their  danger, 
ran  to  their  cabin  to  apprise  them  of  it,  and  told  them  that 
Ellinipsico  was  charged  with  having  brought  with  him  the 
Indians  who  had  killed  Gilmore.  This  however  he  posi¬ 
tively  denied,  averring  that  he  came  alone,  and  with  the 
sole  object  of  learning  something  of  his  father.  In  this 
time  Captain  Hall  and  his  men  had  arrived  within  hearing, 
and  Ellinipsico  appeared  much  agitated.  Cornstalk  how¬ 
ever,  encouraged  him  to  meet  his  fate  composedly,  saying, 
“my  son,  the  Great  Spirit  has  seen  fit  that  we  should  die 
together,  and  has  sent  you  here  to  that  [154]  end.  It  is 
his  will  and  let  us  submit; — it  is  all  for  the  best;”  and 
turning  to  meet  his  murderers  at  the  door,  received  seven 
bullets  in  his  body  and  fell  without  a  groan. 

Thus  perished  the  mighty  Cornstalk,  Sachem  of  the 
Shawanees,  and  king  of  the  northern  confederacy  in  1774  : 
A  chief  remarkable  for  many  great  and  good  qualities. 
He  was  disposed  to  be  at  all  times  the  friend  of  white  men  ; 
as  he  ever  was,  the  advocate  of  honorable  peace.  But 
when  his  country’s  wrongs  “  called  aloud  to  battle,”  he  be- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


213 


came  the  thunderbolt  of  war ;  and  made  her  oppressors  feel 
the  weight  of  his  uplifted  arm.  He  sought  not  to  pluck 
the  scalp  from  the  head  of  the  innocent,  nor  to  war  against 
the  unprotected  and  defenceless;  choosing  rather  to  en¬ 
counter  his  enemies,  girded  for  battle,  arid  in  open  conflict. 
Ilis  noble  bearing, — his  generous  and  disinterested  attach¬ 
ment  to  the  colonies,  when  the  thunder  of  British  cannon 
was  reverberating  through  the  land — his  anxiety  to  pre¬ 
serve  the  frontier  of  Virginia  from  desolation  and  death, 
(the  object  of  his  visit  to  Point  Pleasant) — all  conspired  to 
win  for  him  the  esteem  and  respect  of  others ;  while  the 
untimely,  and  perfidious  manner  of  his  death,  caused  a 
deep  and  lasting  regret  to  pervade  the  bosoms,  even  of 
those  who  were  enemies  to  his  nation ;  and  excited  the 
just  indignation  of  all,  towards  his  inhuman  and  barbarous 
murderers. 

When  the  father  fell,  Ellinipsico  continued  still  and 
passive;  not  even  raising  himself  from  the  seat,  which  he 
had  occupied  before  they  received  notice,  that  some  infuri¬ 
ated  whites  were  loudly  demanding  their  immolation.  lie 
met  death  in  that  position,  with  the  utmost  composure 
and  calmness.  The  trepidation  which  first  seized  upon 
him,  was  of  but  momentary  duration,  and  was  succeeded 
by  a  most  dignified  sedateness  and  stoical  apathy.  It  was 
not  so  with  the  young  Red  Hawk.  He  endeavored  to 
conceal  himself  up  the  chimney  of  the  cabin,  in  which 
they  were ;  but  without  success.  He  was  soon  discovered 
and  killed.  The  remaining  Indian  was  murdered  by 
piece-meal;  and  with  almost  all  those  circumstances  of 
cruelty  and  horror,  which  characterize  the  savage,  in 
wreaking  vengeance  upon  an  enemy. 

Cornstalk  is  said  to  have  had  a  presentiment  of  his 
approaching  fate.  On  the  day  preceding  his  death,  a 
council  of  officers  was  convoked,  in  consequence  of  the 
continued  absence  of  General  Hand,  and  their  entire  ig¬ 
norance  of  his  [155]  force  or  movements,  to  consult  and 
determine  on  what  would  be  the  course  for  them  to  pur¬ 
sue  under  existing  circumstances.  Cornstalk  was  admit¬ 
ted  to  the  council ;  and  in  the  course  of  some  remarks, 
with  which  he  addressed  it,  said,  “  When  I  was  young  and 


214 


Withers's  Chronicles 


went  to  war,  I  often  thought,  each  might  he  my  last  ad¬ 
venture,  and  I  should  return  no  more.  I  still  lived.  Now 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  you,  and  if  you  choose,  may  kill  me. 
I  can  die  but  once.  It  is  alike  to  me,  whether  now  or 
hereafter.”  Little  did  those  who  were  listening  with  de¬ 
light  to  the  eloquence  of  his  address,  and  deriving  knowl¬ 
edge  from  his  instruction,  think  to  see  him  so  quickly  and 
inhumanly,  driven  from  the  theatre  of  life.  It  was  a  fear¬ 
ful  deed ;  and  dearly  was  it  expiated  by  others.  The 
Shawanees  were  a  warlike  people,  and  became  hencefor¬ 
ward  the  most  deadty  foe,  to  the  inhabitants  on  the 
frontiers. 

In  a  few  days  after  the  perpetration  of  this  diabolical 
outrage  upon  all  propriety,  General  Hand  arrived  from 
Pittsburg  without  an  army,  and  without  provisions  for 
those  who  had  been  awaiting  his  coming.  It  was  then 
determined  to  abandon  the  expedition  ;  and  the  volunteers 
returned  to  their  homes.1 

1  See  p.  172,  note  2,  for  sketch  of  life  and  death  of  Cornstalk. — 
R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


215 


[156]  CHAPTER  IX. 

While  Cornstalk  was  detained  at  Point  Pleasant,  as 
surety  for  the  peace  and  neutrality  of  the  Shawanees,  In¬ 
dians,  of  the  tribes  already  attached  to  the  side  of  Great 
Britain,  were  invading  the  more  defenceless  and  unpro¬ 
tected  settlements.  Emerging,  as  Virginia  then  was,  from 
a  state  of  vassalage  and  subjection,  to  independence  and 
self-government — contending  in  fearful  inferiority  of 
strength  and  the  munitions  of  war  with  a  mighty  and 
warlike  nation  —  limited  in  resources,  and  wanting  in 
means,  essential  for  supporting  the  unequal  conflict,  she 
could  not  be  expected  to  afford  protection  and  security 
from  savage  inroad,  to  a  frontier  so  extensive  as  hers;  and 
still  less  was  she  able  to  spare  from  the  contest  which  she 
was  waging  with  that  colossal  power,  a  force  sufficient  to 
maintain  a  war  in  the  Indian  country  and  awe  the  savages 
into  quiet.  It  had  not  entered  into  the  policy  of  this  state 
to  enlist  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife  in  her  behalf; 
or  to  make  allies  of  savages,  in  a  war  with  Christians  and 
civilized  men.  She  sought  by  the  force  of  reason  and  the 
conviction  of  propriety,  to  prevail  on  them  to  observe 
neutrality — not  to  become  her  auxiliaries.  “  To  send 
forth  the  merciless  cannibal,  thirsting  for  blood,  against 
protestant  brethren,”  was  a  refinement  in  war  to  which 
she  had  not  attained.  That  the  enemy,  with  whom  she 
was  struggling  for  liberty  and  life  as  a  nation,  with  all  the 
lights  of  religion  and  philosophy  to  illumine  her  course, 
should  have  made  of  them  allies,  and  “  let  loose  those  hor¬ 
rible  hell-hounds  of  war  against  their  countrymen  in 
America,  endeared  to  them  by  every  tie  which  should 
sanctify  human  nature,”  was  a  most  lamentable  circum¬ 
stance — in  its  consequences,  blighting  and  desolating  the 
fairest  portions  of  the  country,  and  covering  the  face  of 
[157]  its  border  settlements,  with  the  gloomy  mantle  of 
sorrow  and  woe. 


216 


Withers's  Chronicles 


There  is  in  the  Indian  bosom  an  hereditary  sense  of 
injury,  which  naturally  enough  prompts  to  deeds  of  re- 
vangeful  cruelty  towards  the  whites,  without  the  aid  of  ad¬ 
ventitious  stimulants.  When  these  are  superadded,  they 
become  indeed,  the  most  ruthless  and  infuriated  enemy — 
‘‘thirsting  for  blood,”  and  causing  it  literally  to  flow,  alike 
from  the  hearts  of  helpless  infancy  and  hoary  age — from 
the  timorous  breast  of  weak  woman,  and  the  undaunted 
bosom  of  the  stout  warrior.  Leagued  with  Great  Britain, 
the  Indians  were  enabled  more  fully  and  effectually,  to 
glut  their  vengeance  on  our  citizens,  and  gratify  their  en¬ 
tailed  resentment  towards  them. 

In  the  commencement  of  Indian  depredations  on 
North  Western  Virginia,  during  this  war,  the  only  places 
of  refuge  for  the  inhabitants,  besides  private  forts  and 
block-houses,  were  at  Pittsburg,  Bedstone,  Wheeling  and 
Point  Pleasant.  Garrisons  had  been  maintained  at  Fort 
Pitt  and  Bedstone,  ever  after  their  establishment;  and 
fortresses  were  erected  at  the  two  latter  places  in  1774. 
They  all  seemed  to  afford  an  asylum  to  many,  when  the 
Indians  were  known  to  be  in  the  country;  but  none  of 
them  had  garrisons,  strong  enough  to  admit  of  detach¬ 
ments  being  sent,  to  act  offensively  against  the  invaders. 
All  that  they  could  effect,  was  the  repulsion  of  assaults 
made  on  them,  and  the  expulsion  from  their  immediate 
neighborhoods,  of  small  marauding  parties  of  the  savage 
enemy.  When  Captain  Arbuckle  communicated  to  the 
Governor  the  information  derived  from  Cornstalk,  that 
extensive  preparations  were  making  by  the  Indians,  for 
war,  and  the  probability  of  its  early  commencement,  such 
measures  were  immediately  adopted,  to  prevent  its  success, 
as  the  then  situation  of  the  country  would  justify.  A 
proclamation  was  issued,  advising  the  inhabitants  of  the 
frontier,  to  retire  into  the  interior  as  soon  as  practicable; 
and  that  they  might  be  enabled  the  better  to  protect  them¬ 
selves  from  savage  fury,  some  ammunition  was  forwarded 
to  settlements  on  the  Ohio  river,  remote  from  the  state 
forts,  and  more  immediately  exposed  to  danger  from  in¬ 
cursion.  General  Hand  too,  then  stationed  at  Fort  Pitt, 
sent  an  express  to  the  different  settlements,  recommending 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


217 


that  they  should  be  immediately  abandoned,  and  the  indi¬ 
viduals  composing  them,  should  forthwith  seek  shelter  in 
some  contiguous  fortress,  or  retire  east  of  the  [158]  moun¬ 
tain.  All  were  apprized  of  the  impending  danger,  and 
that  it  was  impracticable  in  the  pressing  condition  of  af¬ 
fairs,  for  the  newly  organized  government  to  extend  to 
them  any  effective  protection. 

Thus  situated,  the  greater  part  of  those  who  had  taken 
up  their  abode  on  the  western  waters,  continued  to  reside 
in  the  country.  Others,  deeming  the  means  of  defence 
inadequate  to  security,  and  unwilling  to  encounter  the 
horrors  of  an  Indian  war,  no  better  provided  than  they 
were,  pursued  the  advice  of  government,  and  withdrew 
from  the  presence  of  danger.  Those  who  remained,  sen¬ 
sible  of  dependence  on  their  individual  resources,  com¬ 
menced  making  preparations  for  the  approaching  crisis. 
The  positions  which  had  been  selected  as  places  of  security 
and  defence  in  the  war  of  1774,  were  fortified  anew,  and 
other  block-houses  and  forts  were  erected  by  their  unaided 
exertion,  into  which  they  would  retire  on  the  approach  of 
danger.  hTor  was  it  long  before  this  state  of  things  was 
brought  about. 

In  June  1777, 1  a  party  of  Indians  came  to  the  house 
of  Charles  Grigsby  on  Rooting  creek,  a  branch  of  the 
West  Fork,  and  in  the  county  of  Harrison.  Mr.  Grigsby 
being  from  home,  the  Indians  plundered  the  house  of 
every  thing  considered  valuable  by  them,  and  which  they 
could  readily  carry  with  them;  and  destroying  many 
other  articles,  departed,  taking  with  them  Mrs.  Grigsby 
and  her  two  children  as  prisoners.  Returning  home  soon 
after,  seeing  the  desolation  which  had  been  done  in  his 
short  absence,  and  unable  to  find  his  wife  and  children, 
Mr.  Grigsby  collected  some  of  his  neighbors  and  set  out 
in  pursuit  of  those,  by  whom  the  mischief  had  been  ef¬ 
fected, — hoping  that  he  might  overtake  and  reclaim  from 
them  the  partner  of  his  bosom,  and  the  pledges  of  her 
affection.  Ilis  hopes  were  of  but  momentary  existence. 

1  This  “  year  of  the  three  sevens,”  as  it  was  called,  was  long  known, 
as  “the  bloody  year”  of  border  history. — R.  G,  T. 


218 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


Following  in  the  trail  of  the  fugitives,  when  they  had  ar- 
rived  near  to  Loss  creek,  a  distance  of  but  six  miles,  they 
found  the  body  of  Mrs.  Grigsby  and  of  her  younger  child, 
where  they  had  recently  been  killed  and  scalped.  The 
situation  of  this  unfortunate  woman  (being  near  the  hour 
of  confinement,)  and  the  entire  helplessness  of  the  child, 
were  hindrances  to  a  rapid  retreat;  and  fearing  pursuit, 
the  Indians  thus  inhumanly  rid  themselves  of  those  in¬ 
cumbrances  to  their  flight  and  left  them  to  accidental  dis¬ 
covery,  or  to  become  food  for  the  beasts  of  the  forest. 

[159]  Stimulated  to  more  ardent  exertions  by  the  dis¬ 
tressing  scene  just  witnessed,  the  pursuers  pushed  forward, 
with  increased  expectation  of  speedily  overtaking  and 
punishing,  the  authors  of  this  bloody  deed;  leaving  two 
of  their  party  to  perform  the  sepulture  of  the  unfortunate 
mother,  and  her  murdered  infant.  But  before  the  whites 
were  aware  of  their  nearness  to  the  Indians,  these  had  be¬ 
come  apprized  of  their  approach,  and  separated,  so  as  to 
leave  no  trail  by  which  they  could  be  farther  traced.  They 
had  of  course  to  give  over  the  pursuit;  and  returned 
home,  to  provide  more  effectually  against  the  perpetration 
of  similar  acts  of  atrocity  and  darkness. 

A  short  time  after  this,  two  Indians  came  on  the  West 
Fork,  and  concealed  themselves  near  to  Coon’s  fort,  await¬ 
ing  an  opportunity  of  effecting  some  mischief.  While 
thus  lying  in  ambush,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Coon  came  out 
for  the  purpose  of  lifting  some  hemp  in  a  field  near  to  the 
fort,  and  by  the  side  of  the  road.  Being  engaged  in  per¬ 
forming  this  business,  Thomas  Cunningham  and  Enoch 
James  passing  along,  and  seeing  her,  entered  into  con¬ 
versation  with  her,  and  after  a  while  proceeded  on  their 
road.  But  before  they  had  gone  far,  alarmed  by  the  re¬ 
port  of  a  gun,  they  looked  back  and  saw  an  Indian  run 
up  to  the  girl,  tomahawk  and  scalp  her.  The  people  of 
the  fort  were  quickly  apprised  of  what  had  been  done, 
and  immediately  turned  out  in  pursuit;  but  could  not 
trace  the  course  taken  by  the  savages.  It  afterwards  ap¬ 
peared  that  the  Indians  had  been  for  some  time  waiting 
for  the  girl  to  come  near  enough  for  them  to  catch  and 
make  her  prisoner,  before  she  could  alarm  the  fort,  or  get 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


219 


within  reach  of  its  guns;  hut  when  one  of  them  crossed 
the  fence  for  this  purpose,  she  espied  him  and  ran  directly 
towards  the  fort. — Fearing  that  he  would  not  be  able  to 
overtake  her,  without  approaching  the  fort  so  as  to  in¬ 
volve  himself  in  some  danger,  he  shot  her  as  she  ran;  and 
going  up  to  her  he  tomahawked  and  scalped  her.  In  en¬ 
deavoring  then  to  secure  himself  by  flight,  he  was  shot  at 
by  James,  but  at  so  great  distance  as  to  prevent  the  doing 
of  execution. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Wheeling,  some  mischief  of 
this  kind  was  done  about  the  same  time,  and  bv  Indians 
who  acted  so  warily,  as  to  avoid  being  discovered  and 
punished.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Thomas  Ryan  was 
killed  in  a  field  some  distance  from  the  house,  and  a  negro 
fellow^/t  work  with  him,  [160]  taken  prisoner  and  carried 
off.  FTo  invasion  however,  of  that  country,  had  been  as 
yet,  of  sufficient  importance  to  induce  the  people  to  for¬ 
sake  their  homes  and  go  into  the  forts. — Scouting  parties 
were  constantly  traversing  the  woods  in  every  direction, 
and  so  successfully  did  they  observe  every  avenue  to  the 
settlements,  that  the  approach  of  Indians  was  generally 
discovered  and  made  known,  before  any  evil  resulted  from 
it.  But  in  August  the  whole  country  bordering  on  the 
Ohio,  from  Fort  Pitt  to  Wheeling,  became  justly  alarmed 
for  its  fate;  and  the  most  serious  apprehensions  for  the 
safety  of  its  inhabitants,  were  excited  in  the  bosoms  of  all. 
Intelligence  was  conveyed  to  General  Hand  at  Fort  Pitt,1 
by  some  friendly  Indians  from  the  Moravian  towns,  that 
a  large  army  of  the  north  western  confederacy,  had  come 
as  far  as  those  villages,  and  might  soon  be  expected  to 
strike  an  awful  blow  on  some  part  of  the  Ohio  settlements. 
The  Indian  force  was  represented  as  being  so  great,  as  to 
preclude  all  idea  of  purchasing  safety,  by  open  conflict ;  - 

1  General  Hand  was  commandant,  and  George  Morgan  Indian  agent, 
at  Fort  Pitt.  Runners  from  the  Moravian  towns  on  the  Tuscarawas  and 
Muskingum  rivers,  in  Ohio,  frequently  came  into  the  fort  during  the 
summer,  with  dispatches  for  either  of  these  officials.  The  Delawares, 
as  a  nation,  were  friendly  throughout  the  year.  The  hostiles  were 
chiefly  composed  of  Wyandots  and  Mingoes,  but  with  them  were  a  few 
Shawnees  and  Delawares. — R.  G.  T. 


220 


Withers's  Chronicles 


and  the  inhabitants  along  the  river,  generally  retired  into 
forts,  as  soon  as  they  received  information  of  their  danger, 
and  made  every  preparation  to  repel  an  assault  on  them. 
They  did  not  however,  remain  long  in  suspense,  as  to  the 
point  against  which  the  enemy  would  direct  its  operations. 

Wheeling  Fort,  although  it  had  been  erected  by  the 
proper  authorities  of  the  government,  and  was  supplied 
with  arms  and  ammunition  from  the  public  arsenal,  was 
not  at  this  time  garrisoned,  as  were  the  other  state  forts  on 
the  Ohio,  by  a  regular  soldiery ;  but  was  left  to  be  de¬ 
fended  solely  by  the  heroism  and  bravery  of  those,  who 
might  seek  shelter  within  its  walls.1  The  settlement 
around  it  was  flourishing,  and  had  grown  with  a  rapidity 
truly  astonishing,  when  its  situation,  and  the  circumstances 
of  the  border  country  generally,  are  taken  into  considera¬ 
tion.  A  little  village,  of  twenty-live  or  thirty  houses,  had 
sprung  up,  where  but  a  few  years  before,  the  foot  of  civil¬ 
ized  man  had  never  trod ;  and  where  the  beasts  of  the 
forest  had  lately  ranged  undisturbedly,  were  to  be  seen 
lowing  herds  and  bleating  flocks,  at  once,  the  means  of 
sustenance,  and  the  promise  of  future  wealth  to  their 
owners. — In  the  enjoyment  of  this,  comparatively,  pros¬ 
perous  condition  of  things,  the  inhabitants  little  dreamed, 
how  quickly  those  smiling  prospects  were  to  be  blighted, 
their  future  hopes  blasted,  and  they  deprived  of  almost 
every  necessary  of  life.  They  [161]  were  not  insensible  to 
the  danger  which  in  time  of  war  was  ever  impending  over 

1  The  first  fort  at  Wheeling  was  built  in  the  summer  of  1774,  by 
order  of  Lord  Dunmore,  under  direction  of  Majors  William  Crawford 
and  Angus  McDonald.  It  stood  upon  the  Ohio  bank  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  above  the  entrance  of  Wheeling  Creek.  Standing  in  open  ground, 
it  was  a  parallelogram  of  square  pickets  pointed  at  top,  with  bastions 
and  sentry  boxes  at  the  angles,  and  enclosed  over  half  an  acre.  It 
ranked  in  strength  and  importance,  next  to  Fort  Pitt.  Within  the  fort 
were  log  barracks,  an  officers’  house,  a  storehouse,  a  well,  and  cabins 
for  families.  A  steep  hill  rises  not  far  inland  ;  between  the  fort  and  the 
base  of  this  hill  the  forest  had  been  leveled,  and  a  few  log  cabins  were 
nestled  in  the  open.  Such  was  Wheeling  in  1777.  At  first  the  fort  had 
been  called  Fincastle,  for  the  Ohio  Valley  settlements  were  then  in 
Fincastle  County,  Va.;  but  upon  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  the  post, 
now  in  Ohio  County,  was  named  Fort  Henry,  in  honor  of  the  first  state 
governor  of  Virginia. — R.  G.  T. 


221 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

them ;  but  relying  on  the  vigilance  of  their  scouts,  to  as¬ 
certain  and  apprize  them  of  its  approach,  and  on  the  prox¬ 
imity  of  a  fort  into  which  they  could  retire  upon  a  minute’s 
warning,  they  did  not  shut  themselves  up  within  its  walls, 
until  advised  of  the  immediate  necessity  of  doing  so,  from 
the  actual  presence  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  night  of  the  first  of  September,  Captain  Ogal, 
who  with  a  party  of  twelve  men,  had  been  for  some  days 
engaged  in  watching  the  paths  to  the  settlement  and  en¬ 
deavoring  to  ascertain  the  approach  of  danger,1  came  into 
Wheeling  with  the  assurance  that  the  enemy  were  not  at 
hand.  In  the  course  of  that  night,  however,  the  Indian 
army,  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  eighty-nine  war¬ 
riors,2  came  near  to  the  village,  and  believing  from  the 
lights  in  the  fort,  that  the  inhabitants  were  on  their 
guard,  and  that  more  might  be  effected  by  an  ambuscade 
in  the  morning,  than  by  an  immediate  and  direct  attack, 
posted  themselves  advantageously  for  that  purpose.  Two 
lines  were  formed,  at  some  distance  from  each,  extending 
from  the  river  across  the  point  to  the  creek,  with  a  corn¬ 
field  to  afford  them  concealment.  In  the  centre  between 
these  lines,  near  a  road  leading  through  the  field  to  the 
fort,  and  in  a  situation  easily  exposing  them  to  observa¬ 
tion,  six  Indians  were  stationed,  for  the  purpose  of  decoy- 

1  News  came  to  Fort  Pitt,  early  in  August,  that  an  Indian  attack  in 
force,  on  Wheeling,  might  be  expected  at  any  time.  Says  the  Shane 
MSS.,  “  White  Eyes  came  to  Fort  Pitt  and  told  them  the  Indians  were 
going  to  take  Wheeling  home.”  August  2d,  Gen.  Hand  wrote  to  David 
Shepherd,  lieutenant  of  Ohio  County,  warning  him  of  the  perilous  situ¬ 
ation,  and  ordering  him  to  leave  his  own  fort,  six  miles  from  Fort 
Henry,  and  to  rally  at  the  latter  all  the  militia  between  the  Ohio  and 
Monongahela, — the  “  pan-handle.”  Shepherd  did  this,  and  by  the  close 
of  the  month  Fort  Henry  was,  as  he  said,  “Indian  proof.”  But  the 
non-arrival  of  the  foe  caused  a  relaxation  of  vigilance.  Nine  companies 
were  allowed  to  go  home,  and  by  the  last  day  of  August  only  two  com¬ 
panies  remained  in  the  fort,  those  of  Capts.  Joseph  Ogle  and  Samuel 
Mason. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Shepherd  to  Hand,  Sept.  15,  1777 :  “  By  the  best  judges  here 

it  is  thought  their  numbers  must  have  been  not  less  than  be¬ 
tween  two  and  three  hundred.”  The  Shepherd,  Hand,  Shane,  and 
Doddridge  MSS.,  in  the  library  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society, 
throw  much  light  on  this  episode. — R.  G.  T. 


222 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


in g  within  the  lines,  any  force  which  might  discover,  and 
come  out  to  molest  them. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  second,  two  men,  going 
to  a  field  for  horses,  passed  the  first  line,  and  came  near  to 
the  Indians  in  the  centre,  before  they  were  aware  of  dan¬ 
ger.1 — Perceiving  the  six  savages  near  them,  they  endeav¬ 
ored  to  escape  by  flight.  A  single  shot  brought  one  of 
them  to  the  ground  :  the  other  was  permitted  to  escape 
that  he  might  give  the  alarm.  Captain  Mason  (who,  with 
Captain  Ogal  and  his  party,  and  a  few  other  men  had  oc¬ 
cupied  the  fort  the  preceding  night)  hearing  that  there 
were  but  six  of  the  enemy,  marched  with  fourteen  men, 
to  the  place  where  they  had  been  seen.  He  had  not  pro¬ 
ceeded  far  from  the  fort,  before  he  came  in  view  of  them ; 
and  leading  his  men  briskly  towards  where  they  were, 
soon  found  themselves  enclosed  by  a  body  of  Indians, 
who  ’till  then  had  remained  concealed. — Seeing  the  im¬ 
possibility  of  maintaining  a  conflict  with  them,  he  en¬ 
deavored  to  retreat  with  his  men,  to  the  fort ;  but  in 
[162]  vain.  They  were  intercepted  by  the  Indians,  and 
nearly  all  literally,  cut  to  pieces.2  Captain  Mason  however, 
and  his  sergeant  succeeded  in  passing  the  front  line,  but 
being  observed  by  some  of  the  enemy,  were  pursued,  and 
fired  at,  as  they  began  to  rise  the  hill.  The  sergeant  was 
so  wounded  by  the  ball  aimed  at  him,  that  he  fell,  unable 
again  to  get  up;  but  seeing  his  Captain  pass  near  without 
a  gun  and  so  crippled  that  he  moved  but  slowly  in  advance 

1  The  Indians  made  their  appearance  on  the  night  of  August  31st — 
not  September  1st,  as  in  the  text.  The  incident  here  related  occurred 
at  about  sunrise  of  September  1st.  Andrew  Zane,  young  John  Boyd, 
Samuel  Tomlinson,  and  a  negro,  set  out  to  hunt  for  the  horses  of  Dr. 
James  McMechen,  because  the  latter  wished  that  day  to  return  to  the 
older  settlements,  either  on  the  Monongahela,  or  east  of  the  mountains. 
Boyd  was  killed,  but  his  companions  escaped — Zane,  by  leaping  from 
a  cliff,  the  height  of  -which  local  tradition  places  at  seventy  feet. — 
B.  G.  T. 

2  De  Hass,  in  his  History  of  the  Early  Settlement  and  Indian  Wars  of 
West  Virginia , — a  conscientious  work,  which  depends,  however,  too 
closely  on  traditions, — says  (p.  225),  “out  of  the  fourteen,  but  two  es¬ 
caped.”—  R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare.  223 

of  his  pursuers,  he  hauded  him  his,  and  calmly  surrendered 
himself  to  his  fate. 

Captain  Mason  had  been  twice  wounded,  and  was 
then  so  enfeebled  by  the  loss  of  blood,  and  faint  from 
fatigue  that  he  almost  despaired  of  ever  reaching  the  fort; 
yet  he  pressed  forward  with  all  his  powers.  He  was  sensible 
that  the  Indian  was  near  him,  and  expecting  every  instant, 
that  the  tomahawk  would  sever  his  skull,  he  for  a  while 
forgot  that  his  gun  was  yet  charged.  The  recollection  of 
this,  inspiring  him  with  fresh  hopes,  he  wheeled  to  fire  at 
his  pursuer,  but  found  him  so  close  that  he  could  not  bring 
his  gun  to  bear  on  him.  Having  greatly  the  advantage  of 
ground,  he  thrust  him  back  with  his  hand.  The  uplifted 
tomahawk  descended  to  the  earth  with  force ;  and  before 
the  Indian  could  so  far  regain  his  footing  as  to  hurl  the 
fatal  weapon  from  his  grasp,  or  rush  forward  to  close  in 
deadly  struggle  with  his  antagonist,  the  ball  from  Captain 
Mason’s  gun  had  done  its  errand,  and  the  savage  fell  life¬ 
less  to  the  earth.  Captain  Mason  was  able  to  proceed  only 
a  few  paces  farther;  but  concealing  himself  by  the  side  of 
a  large  fallen  tree,  he  remained  unobserved  while  the 
Indians  continued  about  the  fort. 

The  shrieks  of  Captain  Mason’s  men,  and  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  the  guns,  induced  Capt.  Ogal  to  advance  with 
his  twelve  scouts,  to  their  relief.  Being  some  distance  in 
the  rear  of  his  men,  the  Indians,  in  closing  round  them, 
fortunately  left  him  without  the  circle,  and  he  concealed 
himself  amid  some  briers  in  the  corner  of  the  fence;  where 
he  lay  until  the  next  day.  The  same  fate  awaited  his 
men,  which  had  befallen  Capt.  Mason’s.  Of  the  twenty 
six  who  were  led  out  by  these  two  officers,  only  three  es¬ 
caped  death,  and  two  of  these  were  badly  wounded  :  a 
striking  evidence  of  the  fact,  that  the  ambuscade  was 
judiciously  planned,  and  the  expectations  of  its  success, 
well  founded.1 

While  these  things  were  doing,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
village  were  busily  employed  in  removing  to  the  fort  and 

1  Among  the  survivors  was  Ogle  who,  like  Mason,  hid  himself  in  the 
bushes  until  nightfall  enabled  him  to  return  to  the  fort. — R.  G.  T. 


224 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


preparing  for  its  defense.  A  single  glance  at  the  situation 
of  the  parties  led  on  by  Mason  and  Ogal,  convinced  them 
of  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  [163]  Indians,  and  the 
impossibility  of  maintaining  an  open  contest  with  them. 
And  so  quick  had  been  the  happening  of  the  events  which 
have  been  narrated,  that  the  gates  of  the  fort  were  scarcely 
closed,  before  the  Indian  army  appeared  under  its  walls, 
with  a  view  to  its  reduction  by  storm.1  But  before  the  as¬ 
sault  was  begun  to  be  made,  the  attention  of  the  garrison 
was  directed  to  a  summons  for  its  surrender,  made  by  that 
infamous  renegado,  Simon  Girty.2 

This  worse  than  savage  wretch,  appeared  at  the  end 
window  of  a  house  not  far  from  the  fort,  and  told  them, 
that  he  had  come  with  a  large  army  to  escort  to  Detroit, 
such  of  the  Inhabitants  along  the  frontier,  as  were  willing 
to  accept  the  terms  offered  by  Governor  Hamilton,  to 
those  who  would  renounce  the  cause  of  the  colonies  and 
attach  themselves  to  the  interest  of  Great  Britain ;  calling 
upon  them  to  remember  their  fealty  to  their  sovereign ; 
assuring  them  of  protection,  if  they  would  join  his  stand¬ 
ard,  and  denouncing  upon  them,  all  the  woes  which  spring 
from  the  uncurbed  indulgence  of  savage  vengeance,  if 
they  dared  to  resist,  or  tire  one  gun  to  the  annoyance  of 

1  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Indians  made  no  attack  on  the  fort  at  this 
time,  being  content  with  the  success  of  their  ambuscade.  After  throwing 
up  some  rude  earth-works  and  blinds,  scalping  the  dead  whites,  killing 
all  the  live  stock  within  reach,  and  setting  fire  to  the  outlying  cabins, 
they  retired  across  the  Ohio  in  the  night,  and  dispersed.  Their  loss  was 
one  killed  and  nine  wounded ;  the  whites  lost  fifteen  killed  and  five 
wounded.  The  next  day  (September  2),  the  whites  buried  their  dead, 
and  unavailinglv  scoured  the  country  for  Indians. 

Tradition  has  made  sad  havoc  with  the  records,  in  regard  to  this 
first  “  siege  ”  of  Wheeling.  Some  of  the  deeds  of  heroism  related  below, 
by  Withers,  were  incidents  of  the  second  siege— September  11,  1782, 
seven  years  later;  but  most  of  them  are  purely  mythical,  or  belong 
to  other  localities.  Perhaps  no  events  in  Western  history  have  been 
so  badly  mutilated  by  tradition,  as  these  two  sieges. — R.  G.  T. 

2  This  statement  of  Withers,  that  Simon  Girty  was  at  the  siege  of 
Wheeling,  was  long  accepted  as  fact  by  Western  historians.  But  it  is 
now  established  beyond  doubt,  that  neither  Simon  nor  his  brothers 
■were  present  at  that  affair,  being  at  the  time  in  the  employ  of  Indian 
Agent  Morgan,  at  Fort  Pitt.  For  details  of  the  evidence,  consult  But¬ 
terfield’s  History  oj  the  Girtys ,  passim. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


99  cl 

his  men.  lie  then  read  to  them,  Gov.  Hamilton’s  procla¬ 
mation  ;  and  told  them,  he  could  allow  only  fifteen  min¬ 
utes  to  consider  of  his  proposition.  It  was  enough.  In 
love  with  liberty,  attached  to  their  country,  and  without 
faith  in  his  proffered  protection,  they  required  but  little 
time  to  “  deliberate,  which  of  the  two  to  choose,  slavery 
or  death.”  Col.  Zane  replied  to  him,  “  that  they  had  con¬ 
sulted  their  wives  and  children,  and  that  all  were  resolved 
to  perish,  sooner  than  place  themselves  under  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  a  savage  army  with  him  at  its  head,  or  abjure  the 
cause  of  liberty  and  of  the  colonies.”  Girty  then  repre¬ 
sented  to  them  the  great  force  of  the  Indians, — the  impos¬ 
sibility  that  the  fort  could  withstand  the  assault, — the  cer¬ 
tainty  of  protection  if  they  acceded  to  his  propositions, 
and  the  difficulty  of  restraining  the  assailants,  if  enraged 
and  roused  to  vengeance  by  opposition  and  resistance.  A 
shot  discharged  at  him  from  the  fort,  caused  him  to  with¬ 
draw  from  the  window  and  the  Indians  commenced  the 
assault. 

There  were  then  in  the  fort  but  thirty-three  men,  to 
defend  it  against  the  attack  of  upwards  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty  Indians;  and  bravely  did  they  maintain 
their  situation  against  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  all  that  art  and  fury  could  effect  to  accomplish  their 
destruction.  For  twenty-three  hours,  all  was  life,  and 
energy,  and  activity  within  the  walls.  Every  individual 
had  particular  duties  to  perform ;  and  promptly  and  faith¬ 
fully  were  they  discharged.  The  more  expert  of  the 
women,  took  stations  by  the  side  of  the  men ;  and  hand¬ 
ling  their  guns  with  soldier  like  readiness,  aided  in  the  re¬ 
pulse,  with  fearless  intrepidity.1  Some  were  engaged  in 
moulding  bullets;  others  in  loading  and  supplying  the 
[164]  men  with  guns  already  charged;  while  the  less  ro- 

1  [163]  The  notes  furnished  the  compiler,  mention  particularly  a 
Mrs.  Glum  and  Betsy  Wheat,  as  performing  all  the  duties  of  soldiers 
with  firmness  and  alacrity. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — Withers  derived  his  information  from  tradi¬ 
tional  notes  in  the  possession  of  Noah  Zane,  son  of  Ebenezer. 

15 


226 


Withers's  Chronicles 


bust  were  employed  in  cooking,  and  in  furnishing  to  the 
combatants,  provisions  and  water,  during  the  continuance 
of  the  attack.  It  seemed  indeed,  as  if  each  individual 
were  sensible,  that  the  safety  of  all  depended  on  his  lone 
exertions;  and  that  the  slightest  relaxation  of  these,  would 
involve  them  all  in  one  common  ruin. 

Finding  that  they  could  make  no  impression  on  the 
fort,  and  fearing  to  remain  longer  before  it,  lest  their  re¬ 
treat  might  be  cut  off,  by  reinforcements  from  the  sur¬ 
rounding  country,  the  assailants  fired  all  the  houses  with¬ 
out  the  walls;  killed  all  the  stock,  which  could  be  found  . 
and  destroying  every  thing  on  which  they  could  lay  their 
hands,  retired  about  day  light,  and  left  the  garrison  in 
possession  of  the  fortress,  but  deprived  of  almost  every 
thing  else.  The  alarm  of  the  presence  of  Indians  having 
been  given  after  day  light,  and  the  attack  on  the  fort  com¬ 
mencing  before  sun  rise,  but  little  time  was  afforded  them, 
for  securing  their  moveable  property.  The  greater  part 
had  taken  with  them  nothing  but  their  clothes,  while 
some  had  left  their  homes  with  their  night  apparel  only. 
Few  were  left  the  enjoyment  of  a  bed,  or  the  humble 
gratification  of  the  coarse  repast  of  bread  and  milk.  Their 
distress  was  consequently  great;  and  their  situation  for 
some  time,  not  much  more  enviable,  than  when  pent 
within  the  fort,  and  straining  every  nerve  to  repel  its  sav¬ 
age  assailants. 

Before  this,  the  Governor  had  sent  to  Col.  Andrew 
Swearingen,  a  quantity  of  ammunition  for  the  defence  of 
those  who  remained  in  the  country  above  Wheeling.  By 
his  exertions,  and  under  his  superintendence,  Bolling’s  and 
Holliday’s  old  forts  were  repaired,  and  the  latter  made 
strong  enough  to  serve  as  a  magazine.  In  it  was  collected, 
all  the  inhabitants  from  its  neighborhood;  and  it  was 
generally  regarded,  as  a  strong  position,  and  able,  occa¬ 
sionally,  to  detach  part  of  its  garrison,  for  the  aid  of  other 
portions  of  the  country.  Soon  after  the  attack  was  begun 
to  be  made  on  Wheeling,  the  alarm  reached  Shepherd’s 
fort,  and  a  runner  was  despatched  from  thence  to  Holli¬ 
day’s  fort  with  the  intelligence,  and  the  apprehension  that 
if  speedy  relief  were  not  afforded,  the  garrison  at  Wheel- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


227 


ing  must  fall.  No  expectation,  of  being  able  to  collect  a 
force  sufficient  to  cope  with  the  assailants,  was  entertained. 
All  that  was  expected  was,  to  throw  succours  into  the 
fort,  and  thus  enable  the  garrison  the  more  successfully  to 
repel  assaults,  and  preserve  it  from  the  violence  of  the  In¬ 
dian  onsets.  For  this  purpose,  Col.  Swearingen  left  Holli¬ 
day’s  with  fourteen  men,  who  nobly  volunteered  to  accom¬ 
pany  him  in  this  hazardous  enterprise,  to  the  regret  of 
those  who  remained,  from  an  apprehension  that  thus 
weakened,  if  Holliday’s  fort  were  attacked  it  must  fall 
easily  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  These  men  got  into 
a  large  continental  canoe ,  and  plied  their  paddles  industri¬ 
ously,  to  arrive  in  time  to  be  of  service  to  the  besieged. 
But  the  night  being  dark,  and  a  dense  fog  hanging  over 
the  river,  they  toiled  to  great  disadvantage,  frequently 
coming  in  contact  with  the  banks;  until  [165]  at  length 
it  was  thought  advisable  to  cease  rowing  and  float  with 
the  current,  lest  they  might,  unknowingly,  pass  Wheel¬ 
ing,  and  at  the  appearance  of  day  be  obliged  to  contend 
with  the  force  of  the  stream,  to  regain  that  point.  Float¬ 
ing  slowly,  they  at  length  descried  the  light  which  pro¬ 
ceeded  from  the  burning  of  the  houses  at  Wheeling,  and 
with  all  their  exertion  could  not  then  attain  their  destina¬ 
tion  before  the  return  of  day.  Could  they  have  realized 
their  expectation  of  arriving  before  day,  they  might  from 
the  river  bank,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  have  gained 
admission  into  the  fort;  but  being  frustrated  in  this,  they 
landed  some  of  the  men  near  above  Wheeling,  to  recon- 
noiter  and  ascertain  the  situation  of  things:  it  being 
doubtful  to  them,  from  the  smoke  and  fog,  whether  the 
fort  and  all,  were  not  a  heap  of  ruins.  Col.  Swearingen, 
Cap.  Bilderbock  and  William  Boshears,  volunteered  for 
this  service,  and  proceeding  cautiously  soon  reached  the 
fort. 

When  arrived  there,  it  was  still  questionable  whether 
the  Indians  bad  abandoned  the  attack,  or  were  only  lying 
concealed  in  the  cornfield,  in  order  to  fall  on  any,  who 
might  come  out  from  the  fort,  under  the  impression  that 
danger  was  removed  from  them.  Fearing  that  the  latter 
was  the  case,  it  was  thought  prudent,  not  to  give  the  pre- 


228 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


concerted  signal  for  the  remainder  of  Col.  Swearingen’s 
party  to  come  on,  lest  it  might  excite  the  Indians  to 
greater  vigilance  and  they  intercept  the  men  on  their  way 
to  the  fort.  To  obviate  the  difficulty  arising  from  this  ap¬ 
prehension,  Col.  Swearingen,  Capt.  Bilderbock  and  William 
Boshears,  taking  a  circuitous  route  to  avoid  passing  near  the 
cornfield,  returned  to  their  companions,  and  escorted  them 
to  Wheeling.  It  then  remained  to  ascertain  whether  the 
Indians  had  really  withdrawn,  or  were  only  lying  in  am¬ 
bush.  A  council,  consisting  of  Col.  Zane,  Col.  Shepherd, 
Doctor  McMahon  and  Col.  Swearingen,  being  requested 
to  devise  some  expedient  by  which  to  be  assured  of  the 
fact,  recommended  that  two  of  their  most  active  and  vigil¬ 
ant  men,  should  go  out  openly  from  the  fort,  and  care¬ 
lessly,  but  surely,  examine  the  cornfield  near  to  the 
palisade.  Upon  their  return,  twenty  others,  under  the 
guidance  of  Col.  Zane,  marched  round  at  some  distance 
from  the  field,  and  approaching  it  more  nearly  on  their  re¬ 
turn,  became  assured  that  the  Indians  had  indeed  despaired 
of  success,  and  were  withdrawn  from  the  field.  About 
this  time  Major  M’Cullough  arrived  with  forty-five  men, 
and  they  all  proceeded  to  view  the  battle  ground. 

Here  was  indeed  a  pitiable  sight.  Twenty-three  of  the- 
men  who  had  accompanied  Capts.  Mason  and  Ogal  in  the 
preceding  morning,  were  lying  dead;  few  of  them  had 
been  shot,  but  the  greater  part,  most  inhumanly  and  bar¬ 
barously  butchered  with  the  tomahawk  and  scalping 
knife.  Upwards  of  three  hundred  head  of  cattle,  horses, 
and  hogs,  wantonly  killed  by  the  savages,  were  seen  lying 
about  the  field,  and  all  the  houses,  with  every  thing  which 
they  contained,  and  which  could  not  be  conveniently 
taken  off  by  the  enemy,  were  but  heaps  of  ashes.  It  was 
long  indeed,  before  the  [166]  inhabitants  of  that  neigh¬ 
borhood  regained  the  comforts,  of  which  that  night’s  deso¬ 
lation  had  deprived  them. 

Soon  after  the  happening  of  these  events  a  company 
of  militia  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Foreman,  arrived 
from  east  of  the  Alleghany,  to  afford  protection  to  the 
settlements  around  Wheeling,  and  occupy  the  fort  at  this 
place.  While  stationed  in  it,  it  was  known  that  parties  of 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


229 


Indians  were  still  lurking  about,  seeking  opportunities  of 
doing  mischief,  and  to  prevent  which,  detachments  were 
frequently  sent  on  scouting  expeditions.  On  the  26th  of 
September,  Capt.  Foreman  with  forty  five  men,  wTent 
about  twelve  miles  below  Wheeling  and  encamped  for  the 
night.  He  was  ignorant  of  the  practices  of  the  Indians, 
and  seemed  rather  indisposed  to  take  council  of  those, 
who  were  conversant  with  them.  After  building  fires  for 
the  night,  he  remained  wuth  his  men  close  around  them, 
contrary  to  the  advice  of  one  of  the  settlers,  by  the  name 
of  Lynn,  who  had  accompanied  him  as  a  spy.  Lynn  how¬ 
ever,  would  not  consent  to  remain  there  himself,  but  tak¬ 
ing  with  him  those  of  the  frontiers  men  who  wTere  in  com¬ 
pany,  retired  some  distance  from  the  fires,  and  spent  the 
night.  Before  it  wras  yet  light,  Lynn,  being  awake, 
thought  he  heard  such  a  noise,  as  would  be  probably  pro¬ 
duced  by  the  launching  of  rafts  on  the  river,  above  the 
position  occupied  by  Capt.  Foreman.  In  the  morning  he 
communicated  his  suspicion  that  an  Indian  force  was  near 
them,  and  advised  the  Captain  to  return  to  Wheeling 
along  the  hill  sides  and  avoid  the  bottoms.  His  advice 
was  rejected;  but  Lynn,  with  the  caution  of  one  used  to 
such  a  condition  of  things,  prudently  kept  on  the  hill  side 
with  four  others,  while  they,  who  belonged  to  the  com¬ 
mand  of  Capt.  Foreman,  continued  along  the  level  at  the 
base  of  the  hill. 

In  marching  along  the  Grave  creek  narrows,  one  of 
the  soldiers  saw  a  parcel  of  Indian  ornaments  lying  in  the 
path;  and  picking  them  up,  soon  drew  around  him  the 
greater  part  of  the  company.  While  thus  crowded  together 
inspecting  the  trinkets,  a  galling  fire  was  opened  on  them 
by  a  party  of  Indians  who  lay  in  ambush,  and  which  threw 
them  into  great  confusion.  The  fire  was  continued  with 
deadly  effect,  for  some  minutes;  and  must  eventually  have 
caused  the  loss  of  the  wrbole  party,  but  that  Lynn,  with 
his  few  comrades  rushed  from  the  hill  discharging  their 
guns,  and  shouting  so  boisterously,  as  induced  the  Indians 
to  believe  that  a  reinforcement  was  at  hand,  and  they  pre¬ 
cipitately  retreated. 

In  this  fatal  ambuscade  there  were  twenty-one  of  Cap- 


230 


Withers's  Chronicles 


tain  Foreman’s  party  killed,  and  several  much  wounded ; 
among  the  slain  were  the  Captain  and  his  two  sons. 

It  appeared  that  the  Indians  had  dropped  their  orna¬ 
ments,  purposely  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  whites  ; 
while  they  themselves  were  lying  concealed  in  two  parties; 
the  one  to  the  right  of  the  path,  in  a  sink-hole  on  the  bot¬ 
tom,  and  the  other  to  the  left,  under  covert  of  the  river 
bank.  From  these  advantageous  positions,  they  [167]  fired 
securely  on  our  men ;  while  they  were  altogether  exempt 
from  danger  ’till  the  party  in  the  sink  hole  was  descried 
by  Lynn.  His  firing  was  not  known  to  have  taken  effect; 
but  to  his  good  conduct  is  justly  attributable  the  saving 
of  the  remnant  of  the  detachment.  The  Indian  force  was 
never  ascertained.  It  was  supposed  to  have  been  small ; 
not  exceeding  twenty  warriors. 

On  the  ensuing  day,  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  Wheeling  under  the  direction  and  guidance  of 
Colonel  Zane,  proceeded  to  Grave  Creek  and  buried  those 
who  had  fallen.1 

1  After  the  affair  at  Wheeling,  September  1,  the  Indians  returned 
home.  But  soon  thereafter,  Half  King,  head  chief  of  the  Wyandots,  set 
out  with  forty  of  that  tribe  to  again  harry  the  Wheeling  country.  On 
the  morning  of  the  26th,  Capts.  William  Foreman  with  twenty-four 
men,  Ogle  with  ten  men,  and  William  Linn  with  nine,  started  from 
Fort  Henry  on  a  scout.  Linn  was  ranking  officer,  although  there  was 
little  discipline.  Foreman  was  a  new  arrival  from  Hampshire  County, 
enlisted  to  go  on  Hand’s  intended  expedition.  They  intended  crossing 
the  Ohio  at  Grave  Creek,  12  miles  below,  and  proceeding  8  miles  farther 
dowm  to  Captina.  At  Grave,  howTever,  they  found  that  the  Tomlinson, 
settlement  (nucleus  of  the  present  Mound  City,  W.  Ya.)  had  been 
abandoned,  and  sacked  by  Indians,  and  no  canoes  were  to  be  had. 
They  camped  for  the  night,  and  the  next  morning  (the  27th)  started  to 
return  along  the  river  bank,  to  Wheeling.  Linn,  apprehensive  of  In¬ 
dians,  marched  along  the  hill  crest,  but  Ogle  and  Foreman  kept  to  the 
trail  along  the  bottom.  At  a  point  where  the  bottom  narrows  because  of 
the  close  approach  of  the  hills  to  the  river — a  defile  then  known  as  Mc- 
Mechen’s  (or  McMahon’s)  Narrows — they  were  set  upon  by  Half  King’s 
party,  awaiting  them  in  ambush.  Foreman  and  twenty  others  were 
killed,  and  one  captured.  The  story  about  Linn’s  gallant  attack  on  the 
Indians  from  his  vantage  point  on  the  hilltop,  is  without  foundation. 
His  party  helped  to  secrete  a  wmunded  man  who  escaped  in  the  melee, 
and  then  put  off  in  hot  haste  for  home.  It  wTas  not  until  four  days  later, 
when  reinforcements  had  arrived  from  Fort  Pitt,  that  Colonel  Shepherd 
ventured  from  the  fort  to  bury  the  dead.  In  1835,  an  inscribed  stone 
was  set  up  at  the  Narrows,  to  commemorate  the  slain. — B.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


231 


At  the  time  of  the  happening  of  those  occurrences 
the  belief  was  general,  that  the  army  which  had  been  led 
to  Wheeling  by  Girty,  had  been  ordered  on,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  conducting  the  tories  from  the  settlements  to  De¬ 
troit;  and  that  detachments  from  that  army  continued  to 
hover  about  the  frontiers  for  some  time,  to  effect  that 
object.  There  was  then,  unfortunately  for  the  repose  and 
tranquility  of  many  neighborhoods,  a  considerable  number 
of  those  misguided  and  deluded  wretches,  who,  disaffected 
to  the  cause  of  the  colonies,  were  willing  to  advance  the 
interest  of  Britain,  by  the  sacrifice  of  every  social  relation, 
and  the  abandonment  of  every  consideration,  save  that  of 
loyalty  to  the  king.  So  far  did  their  opposition,  to  those 
who  espoused  the  cause  of  American  liberty,  blunt  every 
finer  and  more  noble  feeling,  that  many  of  them  were 
willing  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their  neigh¬ 
bors,  in  the  most  sly  and  secret  manner,  and  in  the  hour 
of  midnight  darkness,  for  no  offence  but  attachment  to 
the  independence  of  the  colonies.  A  conspiracy  for  the 
murder  of  the  whigs  and  for  accepting  the  terms,  offered 
by  the  Governor  of  Canada  to  those  who  would  renounce 
their  allegiance  to  the  United  States  and  repair  to  Detroit, 
by  the  relenting  of  one  individual,  was  prevented  being 
carried  into  effect;  and  many  were  consequently  saved 
from  horrors,  equalling,  if  not  transcending  in  enormity, 
the  outrages  of  the  savages  themselves.  Scenes  of  licen¬ 
tiousness  and  fury,  followed  upon  the  discovery  of  the 
plot. — Exasperated  at  its  heinousness,  and  under  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  resentful  feelings,  the  whigs  retaliated  upon  the 
tories,  some  of  the  evils  which  these  had  conspired  to  in¬ 
flict  upon  them.  In  the  then  infuriated  state  of  their 
minds,  and  the  little  restraint  at  that  time  imposed  on  the 
passions  by  the  operation  of  the  laws,  it  is  really  matter  of 
admiration  that  they  did  not  proceed  farther,  and  requite 
upon  those  deluded  wretches,  the  full  measure  of  their 
premeditated  wrongs.  The  head  only  of  this  fiendish 
league,  lost  his  life;  but  many  depredations  were  commit¬ 
ted,  on  the  property  of  its  members. 

A  court,  for  the  trial  of  the  conspirants,  was  held  at 
Bedstone  Fort;  and  many  of  them  were  arraigned  at  its 


232 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


bar.  But  as  their  object  had  been  defeated  by  its  discov¬ 
ery,  and  as  no  farther  danger  was  apprehended  from  them, 
they  were  released,  after  having  been  required  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  and  to  bear  with  the 
injuries  which  had  [168]  been  done  their  property.  Those 
who  were  suspected  for  the  murder  of  the  chief  conspira¬ 
tor,  were  likewise  arraigned  for  that  offence,  but  were  ac¬ 
quitted. 

Hitherto  the  inhabitants  of  Tygart’s  Valley  had  es¬ 
caped  the  ill  effects  of  savage  enmity;  Indian  hostility  not 
having  prompted  an  incursion  into  that  country,  since  its 
permanent  settlement  was  effected  previous  to  the  war  of 
1774.  This  however  had  not  the  effect  to  lull  them  into 
confident  security.  Ascribing  their  fortunate  exemption 
from  irruptions  of  the  enemy,  to  other  causes  than  a 
willingness  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  to  leave  them  in 
quiet  and  repose,  they  exercised  the  utmost  vigilance  to 
discover  their  approach,  and  used  every  precaution  to  en¬ 
sure  them  safety,  if  the  enemy  should  appear  among  them. 
.Spies  were  regularly  employed  in  watching  the  warriors 
paths  beyond  the  settlements,  to  detect  their  advance  and 
to  apprize  the  inhabitants  of  it. 

In  September  of  this  year  (1777)  Leonard  Petro  and 
Wm.  White,  being  engaged  in  watching  the  path  leading 
up  the  Little  Kenhawa,  killed  an  Elk  late  in  the  evening; 
and  taking  part  of  it  with  them,  withdrew  a  short  dis¬ 
tance  for  the  purpose  of  eating  their  suppers  and  spending 
the  night.  About  midnight,  W^hite,  awaking  from  sleep, 
discovered  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  that  there  were  sev¬ 
eral  Indians  near,  who  had  been  drawn  in  quest  of  them 
by  the  report  of  the  gun  in  the  evening.  He  saw  at  a 
glance,  the  impossibility  of  escaping  by  flight;  and  pre¬ 
ferring  captivity  to  death,  he  whispered  to  Petro  to  lie 
still,  lest  any  movement  of  his,  might  lead  to  this  result. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  Indians  sprang  on  them ;  and  White 
raising  himself  as  one  lay  hold  on  him,  aimed  a  furious 
blow,  with  his  tomahawk,  hoping  to  wound  the  Indian  by 
whom  he  was  beset,  and  then  make  his  escape.  Missing 
his  aim  he  affected  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
lie  was  encountered  by  Indians,  professed  great  joy  at 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


233 


meeting  with  them,  and  declared  that  he  was  then  on  his 
way  to  their  towns.  They  were  not  deceived  by  the  arti¬ 
fice  ;  for  although  he  assumed  an  air  of  pleasantness  and 
gaity,  calculated  to  win  upon  their  confidence,  yet  the 
woful  countenance  and  rueful  expression  of  poor  Petro, 
convinced  them  that  White’s  conduct  was  feigned,  that  he 
might  lull  them  into  inattention,  and  they  be  enabled  to 
effect  an  escape.  They  were  both  tied  for  the  night ;  and 
in  the  morning  White  being  painted  red,  and  Petro  black, 
they  were  forced  to  proceed  to  the  Indian  towns.  When 
approaching  a  [169]  village,  the  whoop  of  success  brought 
several  to  meet  them;  and  on  their  arrival  at  it,  they  found 
that  every  preparation  was  made  for  their  running  the 
gauntlet;  in  going  through  which  ceremony  both  were 
much  bruised.  White  did  not  however  remain  long  in 
captivity.  Eluding  their  vigilance,  he  took  one  of  their 
guns  and  began  his  flight  homeward. — Before  he  had 
travelled  far,  he  met  an  Indian  on  horseback,  whom  he 
succeeded  in  shooting;  and  mounting  the  horse  from 
which  he  fell,  his  return  to  the  Valley  was  much  facili¬ 
tated.  Petro  was  never  heard  of  afterwards.  The  paint¬ 
ing  of  him  black,  had  indicated  their  intention  of  killing 
him ;  and  the  escape  of  White  probably  hastened  his 
doom. 

During  this  time,  and  after  the  return  of  White  among 
them,  the  inhabitants  of  Tygart’s  Valley  practiced  their 
accustomed  watchfulness  ’till  about  the  twentieth  of  No¬ 
vember  ;  when  there  was  a  considerable  fall  of  snow.  This 
circumstance  induced  them  to  believe,  that  the  savages 
would  not  attempt  an  irruption  among  them  until  the  re¬ 
turn  of  spring;  and  they  became  consequently,  inattentive 
to  their  safety. 

Generally,  the  settlements  enjoyed  perfect  quiet  from 
the  first  appearance  of  winter,  until  the  return  of  spring.  In 
this  interval  of  time,  the  Indians  are  usually  deterred  from 
penetrating  into  them,  as  well  because  of  their  great  ex¬ 
posure  to  discovery  and  observation  in  consequence  of  the 
nakedness  of  the  woods  and  the  increased  facility  of  pur¬ 
suing  their  trail  in  the  snows  which  then  usually  covered 
the  earth,  as  of  the  suffering  produced  by  their  lying  in 


234 


Withers's  Chronicles 


wait  and  travelling,  in  their  partially  unclothed  condition, 
in  this  season  of  intense  cold.  Instances  of  their  being: 
troublesome  during  the  winter  were  rare  indeed ;  and  never 
occurred,  but  under  very  peculiar  circumstances:  the  in¬ 
habitants,  were  therefore,  not  culpably  remiss,  when  they 
relaxed  in  their  vigilance,  and  became  exposed  to  savage 
inroad. 

A  party  of  twenty  Indians,  designing  to  commit  some 
depredations  during  the  fall,  had  nearly  reached  the  upper 
end  of  Tygart’s  Valley,  when  the  snow,  which  had  in¬ 
spired  the  inhabitants  with  confidence  in  their  security, 
commenced  falling.  Fearful  of  laying  themselves  open  to 
detection,  if  they  ventured  to  proceed  farther  at  that  time, 
and  anxious  to  effect  some  mischief  before  they  returned 
home,  they  remained  concealed  about  ten  miles  from  the 
settlements,  until  the  snow  disappeared.  On  the  15th  of 
December,  they  came  to  the  [170]  house  of  Darby  Connoly, 
at  the  upper  extremity  of  the  Valley,  and  killed  him,  his 
wife  and  several  of  the  children,  and  took  three  others 
prisoners.  Proceeding  to  the  next  house,  killed  John 
Stewart,  his  wife  and  child,  and  took  Miss  Hamilton  (sis¬ 
ter-in-law  to  Stewart)  into  captivity.  They  then  immedi¬ 
ately  changed  their  direction,  and  with  great  dispatch, 
entered  upon  their  journey  home;  with  the  captives  and 
plunder,  taken  at  those  two  places. 

In  the  course  of  the  evening  after  these  outrages  were 
committed,  John  Hadden  passing  by  the  House  of  Connoly 
saw  a  tame  elk  belonging  there,  lying  dead  in  the  yard. 
This,  and  the  death-like  silence  which  reigned  around,  ex¬ 
cited  his  fears  that  all  was  not  rigdit;  and  entering:  inta 
the  house,  he  saw  the  awful  desolation  which  had  been 
committed.  Seeing  that  the  work  of  blood  had  been  but 
recently  done,  he  hastened  to  alarm  the  neighborhood,  and 
sent  an  express  to  Capt.  Benjamin  Wilson,  living  about 
twenty  miles  lower  in  the  Valley,  with  the  melancholy  in¬ 
telligence.  With  great  promptitude,  Capt.  Wilson  went 
through  the  settlement,  exerting  himself  to  procure  as 
many  volunteers,  as  would  justify  going  in  pursuit  of  the 
aggressors;  and  so  indefatigable  was  he  in  accomplishing 
his  purpose,  that,  on  the  day  after  the  murders  were  per- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


235 


petrated,  he  appeared  on  the  theatre  of  their  exhibition 
with  thirty  men,  prepared  to  take  the  trail  and  push  for¬ 
ward  in  pursuit  of  the  savages.  For  five  days  they  fol¬ 
lowed  through  cold  and  wet,  without  perceiving  that  they 
had  gained  upon  them.  At  this  time  many  of  the  men 
expressed  a  determination  to  return.  They  had  suffered 
much,  travelled  far,  and  yet  saw  no  prospect  of  overtaking 
the  enemy.  It  is  not  wonderful  that  they  became  dispir¬ 
ited.  In  order  to  expedite  their  progress,  the  numerous 
water  courses  which  lay  across  their  path,  swollen  to  an 
unusual  height  and  width,  were  passed  without  any  prep¬ 
aration  to  avoid  gettingwet;  the  consequence  was  that 
after  wading  one  of  them,  they  would  have  to  travel  with 
icicles  hanging  from  their  clothes  the  greater  part  of  a  day, 
before  an  opportunity  could  be  allowed  of  drying  them. 
They  suffered  much  too  for  the  want  of  provisions.  The 
short  time  afforded  for  preparation,  had  not  admitted  of 
their  taking  with  them  as  much  as  they  expected  would 
be  required,  as  they  had  already  been  on  the  chase  longer 
than  was  anticipated.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was 
with  great  difficulty,  Captain  Wilson  could  prevail  [171] 
on  them  to  continue  the  pursuit  one  day  longer;  hoping 
the  Indians  would  have  to  halt,  in  order  to  hunt  for  food. 
Hot  yet  being  sensible  that  they  gained  upon  them,  the 
men  positively  refused  going  farther;  and  they  returned 
to  their  several  homes. 

This  was  the  last  outrage  committed  by  the  savages 
on  Uorth  Western  Virginia,  in  this  year.  And  although 
there  was  not  as  much  mischief  effected  by  them  in  this 
season,  as  had  been  in  others,  yet  the  year  1777,  has  be¬ 
come  memorable  in  the  annals  of  Border  Warfare.  The 
murder  of  Cornstalk  and  his  companions, — the  attack  on 
Wheeling  Fort, — the  loss  of  lives  and  destruction  of  prop¬ 
erty  which  then  took  place,  together  with  the  fatal  ambus¬ 
cade  at  Grave  Creek  Harrows,  all  conspired  to  render  it  a 
period  of  much  interest,  and  to  impress  its  incidents  deeply 
on  the  minds  of  those  who  were  actors  in  these  scenes. 


236 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[172]  CHAPTER  X. 

After  the  winter  became  so  severe  as  to  prevent  the 
Indians  from  penetrating  the  country  and  committing  far¬ 
ther  aggression,  the  inhabitants  became  assured  of  safety, 
and  devoted  much  of  their  time  to  the  erection  of  new 
forts,  the  strengthening  of  those  which  had  been  formerly 
established,  and  the  making  of  other  preparations,  deemed 
necessary  to  prevent  the  repetition  of) those  distressing  oc¬ 
currences,  which  had  spread  gloom  and  sorrow  over  almost 
every  part  of  North  Western  Virginia.  That  the  savages 
would  early  renew  their  exertions  to  destroy  the  frontier 
settlements,  and  harrass  their  citizens,  could  not  for  an 
instant  be  doubted. — Revenge  for  the  murder  of  Cornstalk, 
and  the  other  chiefs  killed  in  the  fort  by  the  whites,  had 
operated  to  unite  the  warlike  nation  of  the  Shawanees  in 
a  league  with  the  other  Indians,  against  them ;  and  every 
circumstance  seemed  to  promise  increased  exertions  on 
their  part,  to  accomplish  their  purposes  of  blood  and 
devastation. 

Notwithstanding  all  which  had  been  suffered  during 
the  preceding  season ;  and  all,  which  it  was  confidently 
anticipated,  would  have  to  be  undergone  after  the  return 
of  spring,  yet  did  the  whole  frontier  increase  in  popula¬ 
tion,  and  in  capacity  to  defend  itself  against  the  encroach¬ 
ments  of  a  savage  enemy,  aided  by  British  emissaries,  and 
led  on  by  American  tories.  The  accession  to  its  strength, 
caused  by  the  number  of  emigrants,  who  came  into  the 
different  settlements,  was  indeed  considerable;  yet  it  was 
insufficient,  to  enable  the  inhabitants  to  purchase  by  offen¬ 
sive  operations,  exemption  from  [173]  invasion,  or  security 
from  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife.  Assured  of  this, 
Virginia  extended  to  them  farther  assistance;  and  a  small 
body  of  regular  troops,  under  the  command  of  General 
McIntosh,  was  appropriated  to  their  defence. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


237 


In  the  spring  of  1778,  General  McIntosh,1  with  the 
regulars  and  some  militiamen,  attached  to  his  command, 
descended  the  Ohio  river  from  Fort  Pitt,  to  the  mouth  of 
Big  Beaver — a  creek  discharging  itself  into  that  river  from 
the  north-west.2  This  was  a  favorable  position,  at  which 
to  station  his  troops  to  effect  the  partial  security  of  the 
frontier,  by  intercepting  parties  of  Indians  on  their  way  to 
the  settlements  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  by 
pursuing  and  punishing  them  while  engaged,  either  in 
committing  havoc,  or  in  retreating  to  their  towns,  after 
the  consummation  of  their  horrid  purposes.  Fort  McIn¬ 
tosh  was  accordingly  erected  here,  and  garrisoned;  a  six 
pounder  mounted  for  its  defence. 

From  Wheeling  to  Point  Pleasant,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-six  miles,3  there  was  then  no  obstacle 
whatever,  presented  to  the  advance  of  Indian  war  parties, 
into  the  settlements  on  the  East  and  West  Forks  of  the 
Monongahela,  and  their  branches.  The  consequences  of 
this  exposure  had  been  always  severely  felt ;  and  never 
more  so  than  after  the  establishment  of  Fort  McIntosh. 
Every  impediment  to  their  invasion  of  one  part  of  the 
country,  caused  more  frequent  irruptions  into  others, 
where  no  difficulties  were  interposed  to  check  their  prog¬ 
ress,  and  brought  heavier  woes  on  them. — This  had  been 
already  experienced,  in  the  settlements  on  the  upper 
branches  of  the  Monongahela,  and  as  they  were  the  last  • 


1  Lachlan  McIntosh  was  born  near  Inverness,  Scotland,  March  17, 
1725.  With  his  father,  and  100  others  of  the  Clan  McIntosh,  he  emi¬ 
grated  to  Georgia  in  1736,  in  the  train  of  Oglethorpe.  The  party- 
founded  New  Inverness,  in  McIntosh  County.  Lachlan  entered  the 
Colonial  army  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution,  and  rose  to  be  briga¬ 
dier-general.  In  a  duel  with  Button  Gwinnett,  a  signer  of  the  Declara¬ 
tion  of  Independence,  he  killed  the  latter.  General  McIntosh  was  at 
the  siege  of  Savannah  in  1779,  was  a  prisoner  of  war  in  1780,  a  member 
congress  in  1784,  and  in  1785  a  commissioner  to  treat  with  the  Southern 
Indians.  He  died  at  Savannah,  February  20,  1806. — R.  G.  T. 

2  The  distance  below  Pittsburg  is  26  miles.  See  p.  45,  note ,  for  notice 
of  Shingiss  Old  Town,  at  this  point. — R.  G.  T. 

3  The  distance,  according  to  the  shore  meanderings  of  the  U.  S. 
Corps  of  Engineers,  is  263  miles ;  the  mileage  of  the  channel  would  be 
somewhat  greater. — R.  G.  T. 


238 


Withers's  Chronicles 


to  feel  the  effects  of  savage  enmity  in  1777,  so  were  they 
first  to  become  sacrificed  to  its  fury  in  1778. 

Anticipating  the  commencement  of  hostilities  at  an 
earlier  period  of  the  season,  than  usual,  several  families 
retired  into  Harbert’s  block-house,  on  Ten  Mile  (a  branch 
of  the  West  Fork,)  in  the  month  of  February.  And  not¬ 
withstanding  the  prudent  caution  manifested  by  them  in 
the  step  thus  taken  ;  yet,  the  state  of  the  weather  lulling 
them  into  false  security,  they  did  not  afterwards  exercise 
the  vigilance  and  provident  care,  which  were  necessary  to 
ensure  their  future  safety.  On  the  third  of  March,  some 
children,  playing  with  a  crippled  crow,  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  yard,  espied  a  number  of  Indians  proceeding  to¬ 
wards  them  ;  and  running  briskly  to  the  house,  told  “  that 
a  number  of  red  men  were  close  by.” — [174]  John  Murphey 
stepped  to  the  door  to  see  if  danger  had  really  approached, 
when  one  of  the  Indians,  turning  the  corner  of  the  house, 
fired  at  him.  The  ball  took  effect,  and  Murphey  fell  back 
into  the  house.  The  Indian  springing  directly  in,  was 
grappled  by  Harbert,  and  thrown  on  the  floor.  A  shot 
from  without,  wounded  Harbert,  yet  he  continued  to  main¬ 
tain  his  advantage  over  the  prostrate  savage,  striking  him 
as  effectually  as  he  could  with  his  tomahawk,  when  an¬ 
other  gun  was  fired  at  him  from  without  the  house.  The 
ball  passed  through  his  head,  and  he  fell  lifeless.  His  an¬ 
tagonist  then  slipped  out  at  the  door,  sorely  wounded  in 
the  encounter. 

Just  after  the  first  Indian  had  entered,  an  active 
young  warrior,  holding  in  his  hand  a  tomahawk  with  a 
long  spike  at  the  end,  also  came  in.  Edward  Cunning¬ 
ham  instantly  drew  up  his  gun  to  shoot  him  ;  but  it 
flashed,  and  they  closed  in  doubtful  strife.  Both  were 
active  and  athletic ;  and  sensible  of  the  high  prize  for 
which  they  ’were  contending,  each  put  forth  his  utmost 
strength,  and  strained  his  every  nerve,  to  gain  the  ascend¬ 
ency.  For  a  while,  the  issue  seemed  doubtful.  At  length, 
by  great  exertion,  Cunningham  wrenched  the  tomahawk 
from  the  hand  of  the  Indian,  and  buried  the  spike  end  to 
the  handle,  in  his  hack.  Mrs.  Cunningham  closed  the 
contest.  Seeing  her  husband  struggling  closely  with  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


239 


savage,  she  struck  at  him  with  an  axe.  The  edge  wound¬ 
ing  his  face  severely,  he  loosened  his  hold,  and  made  his 
way  out  of  the  house. 

The  third  Indian,  which  had  entered  before  the  door 
was  closed,  presented  an  appearance  almost  as  frightful  as 
the  object  which  he  had  in  view.  He  wore  a  cap  made 
of  the  unshorn  front  of  a  buffalo,  with  the  ears  and  horns 
still  attached  to  it,  and  which  hanging  loosely  about  his 
head,  gave  to  him  a  most  hideous  aspect.  On  entering 
the  room,  this  infernal  monster,  aimed  a  blow  with  his 
tomahawk  at  a  Miss  Reece,  which  alighting  on  her  head, 
wounded  her  severely.  The  mother  of  this  girl,  seeing 
the  uplifted  arm  about  to  descend  on  her  daughter,  seized 
the  monster  by  the  horns;  but  his  false  head  coming  read¬ 
ily  off,  she  did  not  succeed  in  changing  the  direction  of 
the  weapon.  The  father  then  caught  hold  of  him  ;  but 
far  inferior  in  strength  and  agility,  he  was  soon  thrown 
on  the  floor,  and  must  have  been  killed,  but  for  the  timely 
interference  of  Cunningham.  Having  [175]  succeeded  in 
ridding  the  room  of  one  Indian,  he  wheeled,  and  sunk  a 
tomahawk  into  the  head  of  the  other. 

During  all  this  time  the  door  was  kept  by  the  women, 
tho’  not  without  great  exertion.  The  Indians  from  with¬ 
out  endeavored  several  times  to  force  it  open  and  gain 
admittance  ;  and  would  at  one  time  have  succeeded,  but 
that,  as  it  was  yielding  to  their  effort  to  open  it,  the  In¬ 
dian,  who  had  been  wounded  by  Cunningham  and  his 
wife,  squeezing  out  at  the  aperture  which  had  been  made, 
caused  a  momentary  relaxation  of  the  exertions  of  those 
without,  and  enabled  the  women  again  to  close  it,  and 
prevent  the  entrance  of  others. — These  were  not  however, 
unemployed.  They  were  engaged  in  securing  such  of  the 
children  in  the  yard,  as  were  capable  of  being  carried 
away  as  prisoners,  and  in  killing  and  scalping  the  others; 
and  when  they  had  effected  this,  despairing  of  being  able 
to  do  farther  mischief,  they  retreated  to  their  towns. 

Of  the  whites  in  the  house,  one  only  was  killed  and 
four  were  wounded ;  and  seven  or  eight  children  in  the 
yard,  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners.  One  Indian  was 
killed,  and  two  badly  wounded.  Had  Reece  engaged 


240 


Withers's  Ch ro n  id es 


sooner  in  the  conflict,  the  other  two  who  had  entered  the 
house,  would  no  doubt  have  been  likewise  killed;  but  be¬ 
ing  a  quaker,  he  looked  on,  without  participating  in  the 
conflict,  until  his  daughter  was  wounded.  Having  then 
to  contend  singly,  with  superior  prowess,  he  was  indebted 
for  the  preservation  of  his  life,  to  the  assistance  of  those 
whom  he  refused  to  aid  in  pressing  need. 

On  the  eleventh  of  April,  some  Indians  visited  the 
house  of  Wm.  Morgan,  at  the  Dunkard  bottom  of  Cheat 
river.  They  there  killed  a  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Brain,  Mrs.  Morgan,  (the  mother  of  William)  and  her 
grand  daughter,  and  Mrs.  Dillon  and  her  two  children  ; 
and  took  Mrs.  Morgan  (the  wife)  and  her  child  prisoners. 
When,  on  their  way  home,  they  came  near  to  Pricket’s 
fort,  they  bound  Mrs.  Morgan  to  a  bush,  and  went  in 
quest  of  a  horse  for  her  to  ride,  leaving  her  child  with 
her.  She  succeeded  in  untying  with  her  teeth,  the  bands 
which  confined  her,  and  wandered  the  balance  of  that  day 
and  part  of  the  next  before  she  came  in  sight  of  the  fort. 
Here  she  was  kindly  treated  and  in  a  few  days  sent  home. 
Some  men  going  out  from  Pricket’s  fort  some  short  time 
after,  found  at  the  spot  where  Mrs.  Morgan  had  [176]  been 
left  by  the  Indians,  a  tine  mare  stabbed  to  the  heart. — Ex¬ 
asperated  at  the  escape  of  Mrs.  Morgan,  they  had  no  doubt 
vented  their  rage  on  the  animal  which  they  had  destined 
to  bear  her  weight. 

In  the  last  of  April,  a  party  of  about  twenty  Indians 
came  to  the  neighborhoods  of  Hacker’s  creek  and  the 
West  Fork.  At  this  time  the  inhabitants  of  those  neigh¬ 
borhoods  had  removed  to  West’s  fort,  on  the  creek,  and  to 
Richards’  fort  on  the  river;  and  leaving  the  women  and 
children  in  them  during  the  day,  under  the  protection  of  a 
few  men,  the  others  were  in  the  habit  of  performing  the 
usual  labors  of  their  farms  in  companies,  so  as  to  preserve 
them  from  attacks  of  the  Indians.  A  company  of  men, 
being  thus  engaged,  the  first  week  of  May,  in  a  field,  now 
owned  by  Mi  titer  Bailey,  on  Hacker's  creek,  and  being  a 
good  deal  dispersed  in  various  occupations,  some  fencing, 
others  clearing,  and  a  few  ploughing,  they  were  unexpect¬ 
edly  fired  upon  by  the  Indians,  and  Thomas  Hughes  and 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


241 


Jonathan  Lowther  shot  down  :  the  others  being  incau¬ 
tiously  without  arms  fled  for  safety.  Two  of  the  company, 
having  the  Indians  rather  between  them  and  West’s  fort, 
ran  directly  to  Richards’,  as  well  for  their  own  security  as 
to  give  the  alarm  there.  But  they  had  been  already  ap¬ 
prized  that  the  enemy  was  at  hand.  Isaac  Washburn,  who 
had  been  to  mill  on  Hacker’s  creek  the  day  before,  on  his 
return  to  Richards’  fort  and  near  to  where  Clement’s  mill 
now  stands,  was  shot  from  his  horse,  tomahawked  and 
scalped.  The  finding  of  his  body,  thus  cruelly  mangled, 
had  given  them  the  alarm,  and  they  were  already  on  their 
guard,  before  the  twTo  men  from  Hacker’s  creek  arrived 
with  the  intelligence  of  what  had  been  done  there.  The 
Indians  then  left  the  neighborhood  without  effecting  more 
havoc;  and  the  whites  were  too  weak  to  go  in  pursuit, 
and  molest  them. 

The  determination  of  the  Shawanees  to  revenge  the 
death  of  their  Sachem,  had  hitherto  been  productive  of  no 
very  serious  consequences.  A  while  after  his  murder,  a 
small  band  of  them  made  their  appearance  near  the  fort 
at  Point  Pleasant;  and  Lieutenant  Moore  was  dispatched 
from  the  garrison,  with  some  men,  to  drive  them  off. 
Upon  his  advance,  they  commenced  retreating;  and  the 
officer  commanding  the  detachment,  fearing  they  would 
escape,  ordered  a  quick  pursuit.  He  did  not  proceed  far 
before  he  fell  into  an  ambuscade.  He  and  three  of  his 
men  were  killed  at  the  first  [177]  fire ; — the  rest  of  the 
party  saved  themselves  by  a  precipitate  flight  to  the  fort. 

In  the  May  following  this  transaction,  a  few  Indians 
again  came  in  sight  of  the  fort.  But  as  the  garrison  had 
been  very  much  reduced  by  the  removal  of  Captain  Ar- 
buckle’s  company,  and  the  experience  of  the  last  season 
had  taught  them  prudence,  Captain  McKee  forbore  to 
detach  any  of  his  men  in  pursuit  of  them.  Disappointed, 
in  their  expectations  of  enticing  others  to  destruction,  as 
they  had  Lieutenant  Moore  in  the  winter,  the  Indians  sud¬ 
denly  rose  from  their  covert,  and  presented  an  unbroken 
line,  extending  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Kanawha  river  in 
front  of  the  fort.  A  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  gar- 
16 


242 


Withers's  Chronicles 


rison,  was  then  made;  and  Captain  McKee  asked  ’till  the 
next  morning  to  consider  of  it.  In  the  course  of  the  night, 
the  men  were  busily  employed  in  bringing  water  from  the 
river,  expecting  that  the  Indians  would  continue  before 
the  fort  for  some  time. 

In  the  morning,  Captain  McKee  sent  his  answer  by 
the  grenadier  squaw,  (sister  to  Cornstalk,  and  who,  not¬ 
withstanding  the  murder  of  her  brother  and  nephew,  was 
still  attached  to  the  whites,  and  was  remaining  at  the  fort 
in  the  capacity  of  interpreter)1  that  he  could  not  comply 
with  their  demand. — The  Indians  immediately  began  the 
attack,  and  for  one  week  kept  the  garrison  closely  besieged. 
Finding  however,  that  they  made  no  impression  on  the 
fort,  they  collected  the  cattle  about  it  and  instead  of  re¬ 
turning  towards  their  own  country  with  the  plunder,  pro¬ 
ceeded  up  the  Kanawha  river  towards  the  Greenbrier 
settlement. 

Believing  their  object  to  be  the  destruction  of  that 
settlement,  and  knowing  from  their  great  force  that  they 
would  certainly  accomplish  it,  if  the  inhabitants  were  un¬ 
advised  of  their  approach,  Captain  McKee  despatched  two 
men  to  Col.  Andrew  Donnelly’s,  (then  the  frontier 
house,)  with  the  intelligence.  These  men  soon  came  in 
view  of  the  Indians  ;  but  finding  that  they  were  advancing 
in  detached  groups,  and  dispersed  in  hunting  parties, 
through  the  woods,  they  despaired  of  being  able  to  pass 
them,  and  returned  to  the  fort.  Captain  McKee  then 
made  an  appeal  to  the  chivalry  of  the  garrison,  and  asked, 
“  who  would  risk  his  life  to  save  the  people  of  Greenbrier.” 
John  Pryor  and  Philip  Hammond,  at  once  stepped  for¬ 
ward,  and  replied  “we  will.”  They  w^ere  then  habited 
after  the  Indian  manner,  and  painted  in  Indian  style  by 
the  Grenadier  Squaw,  and  departed  on  their  hazardous, 
but  noble  and  generous  undertaking.  Travelling,  night 
and  day,  with  great  rapidity,  they  [178]  passed  the  Indians 
at  Meadow  river,  and  arrived,  about  sunset  of  that  day 
at  Donnelly’s  fort,  twenty  miles  farther  on. 

1  See  p.  176,  note,  for  notice  of  Grenadier  Squaw’s  Town,  near  Chilli- 
cothe. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


243 


As  soon  as  the  intelligence  of  the  approach  of  the  In¬ 
dians,  was  communicated  by  these  men,  Col.  Donnelly  had 
the  neighbors  all  advised  of  it;  and  in  the  course  of  the 
night,  they  collected  at  his  house.  He  also  dispatched  a 
messenger  to  Capt.  John  Stuart,  to  acquaint  him  with  the 
fact ;  and  made  every  preparation  to  resist  attack  and  en¬ 
sure  their  safety,  of  which  his  situation  admitted.  Pryor 
and  Hammond  told  them  how,  by  the  precaution  of  Cap¬ 
tain  McKee,  the  garrison  at  Point  Pleasant  had  been  saved 
from  suffering  by  the  want  of  water  ;  and  advised  them  to 
lay  in  a  plentiful  supply,  of  that  necessary  article.  A  hogs¬ 
head  wms  accordingly  filled  and  rolled  behind  the  door  of 
the  kitchen,  which  adjoined  the  dwelling  house. 

Early  next  morning,  John  Pritchet  (a  servant  to  Col. 
Donnelly)  went  out  for  some  firewood,  and  while  thus  en¬ 
gaged,  was  fired  at  and  killed.  The  Indians  then  ran  into 
the  yard,  and  endeavored  to  force  open  the  kitchen  door ; 
but  Hammond  and  Dick  Pointer  (a  negro  belongingto  Col. 
Donnelly)  who  were  the  only  persons  within,  aided  by  the 
hogshead  of  water,  prevented  their  accomplishing  this  ob¬ 
ject.  They  next  proceeded  to  cut  it  in  pieces,  with  their 
tomahawks.  Hammond  seeing  that  they  would  soon  suc¬ 
ceed  in  this  way,  with  the  assistance  of  Dick,  rolled  the 
hogshead  to  one  side,  and  letting  the  door  suddenly  fiy 
open,  killed  the  Indian  at  the  threshold,  and  the  others 
who  were  near  gave  way.  Dick  then  fired  among  them, 
with  a  musket  heavily  charged  with  swan  shot,  and  no 
doubt  with  effect,  as  the  yard  was  crowded  with  the  en¬ 
emy  ;  a  war  club  with  a  swan  shot  in  it,  was  afterwards 
picked  up  near  the  door. 

The  men  in  the  house,  who  were  asleep  at  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  attack,  being  awakened  at  the  firing  of 
Hammond  and  Dick,  now  opened  a  galling  fire  upon  the 
Indians.  Being  chiefly  up  stairs  they  were  enabled  to  do 
greater  execution,  and  fired  with  such  effect  that,  about 
one  o’clock,  the  enemy  retired  a  small  distance  from  the 
house.  Before  they  retired  however,  some  of  them  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  getting  under  the  floor,  when  they  were  aided 
by  the  "whites  below  in  raising  some  of  the  puncheons  of 
which  it  was  made.  It  was  to  their  advantage  to  do  this; 


244 


Withers's  Chronicles 


and  well  did  they  profit  by  it.  Several  of  the  Indians  were 
killed  in  this  attempt  to  gain  admittance,  while  only  one 
of  the  whites  received  a  wound,  which  but  slightly  in¬ 
jured  his  hand. 

When  intelligence  was  conveyed  to  Capt.  Stuart  of 
the  approach  of  so  large  a  body  of  savages,  Col.  Samuel 
Lewis  was  with  him  ;  and  they  both  exerted  themselves  to 
save  the  settlement  from  destruction,  by  collecting  the  in¬ 
habitants  at  a  fort  where  Lewisburg  now  stands.  Having 
succeeded  in  this,  they  sent  two  men  to  Donnelly’s  to  learn 
whether  the  Indians  had  advanced  that  far.  As  they  ap¬ 
proached,  the  firing  became  distinctly  audible,  and  they 
returned  [179]  with  the  tidings.  Capt.  Stuart  and  Col- 
Lewis  proposed  marching  to  the  relief  of  Donnelly’s  fort, 
with  as  many  men  as  were  willing  to  accompany  them ; 
and  in  a  brief  space  of  time,  commenced  their  march  at 
the  head  of  sixty-six  men.  Pursuing  the  most  direct  route 
without  regarding  the  road,  they  approached  the  house  on 
the  back  side;  and  thus  escaped  an  ambuscade  of  Indians 
placed  near  the  road  to  intercept  and  cut  off  any  assist¬ 
ance  which  might  be  sent  from  the  upper  settlements. 

Adjoining  the  yard,  there  was  a  field  of  well  grown 
rye,  into  which  the  relief  from  Lewisburg,  entered  about 
two  o’clock ;  but  as  the  Indians  had  withdrawn  to  a  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  house,  there  was  no  firing  heard.  They 
soon  however,  discovered  the  savages  in  the  field,  looking 
intently  towards  Donnoly’s ;  and  it  was  resolved  to  pass 
them.  Capt.  Stuart  and  Charles  Gatliff  fired  at  them,  and 
the  whole  party  rushed  forward  into  the  yard,  amid  a 
heavy  discharge  of  balls  from  the  savage  forces.  The  peo¬ 
ple  in  the  fort  hearing  the  firing  in  the  rear  of  the  house, 
soon  presented  themselves  at  the  port  holes,  to  resist,  what 
they  supposed,  was  a  fresh  attack  on  them ;  but  quickly 
discovering  the  real  cause,  they  opened  the  gates,  and  all 
the  party  led  on  by  Stuart  and  Lewis,  safely  entered. 

The  Indians  then  resumed  the  attack,  and  maintained 
a  constant  fire  at  the  house,  until  near  dark,  when  one 
of  them  approached,  and  in  broken  English  called  out,  “we 
want  peace.”  He  was  told  to  come  in  and  he  should  have 
it;  but  he  declined  the  invitation  to  enter,  and  they  all  re- 


Of  Border  Warfare.  245 

treated,  dragging  off  those  of  their  slain,  who  lay  not  too 
near  the  fort. 

Of  the  whites,  four  only  were  killed  by  the  enemy. 
Pritchet,  before  the  attack  commenced, — James  Burns  and 
Alexander  Ochiltree,  as  they  were  coming  to  the  house 
early  in  the  morning, — and  James  Graham  while  in  the 
fort.  It  was  impossible  to  ascertain  the  entire  loss  of  the 
Indians.  Seventeen  lay  dead  in  the  yard ;  and  they  were 
known  to  carry  off  others  of  their  slain.  Perhaps  the  dis¬ 
parity  of  the  killed,  equalled,  if  it  did  not  exceed  the  dis¬ 
parity  of  the  number  engaged.  There  were  twenty-one 
men  at  Donnoly’s  fort,  before  the  arrival  of  the  reinforce¬ 
ment  under  Stuart  and  Lewis;  and  the  brunt  of  the  bat¬ 
tle  was  over  before  they  came.  The  Indian  force  exceeded 
two  hundred  men. 

It  was  believed,  that  the  invasion  of  the  Greenbrier 
country  had  been  projected,  some  time  before  it  actually 
was  made.  During  the  preceding  season,  an  Indian  call¬ 
ing  himself  John  Hollis,  had  been  very  much  through  the 
settlement ;  and  was  known  to  take  particular  notice  of 
the  different  forts,  which  he  entered  under  the  garb  of 
friendship.  He  was  with  the  Indians  in  the  attack  on 
Donnoly’s  fort ;  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  those  who 
were  left  dead  in  the  yard. 

On  the  morning  after  the  Indians  departed,  Capt. 
Hamilton  went  in  pursuit  of  them  with  seventy  men  ;  but 
following  two  days,  without  [180]  perceiving  that  he  gained 
on  them,  he  abandoned  the  chase  and  returned. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  three  women  went  out 
from  West’s  fort,  to  gather  greens  in  a  field  adjoining; 
and  while  thus  engaged  were  attacked  by  four  Indians, 
lying  in  wait.  One  gun  only  was  fired,  and  the  ball  from 
it,  passed  through  the  bonnet  of  Mrs.  Hackor,  who  screamed 
aloud  and  ran  with  the  others  towards  the  fort.  An  In¬ 
dian,  having  in  his  hand  a  long  staff,  with  a  spear  in  one 
end,  pursuing  closely  after  them,  thrust  it  at  Mrs.  Free¬ 
man  with  such  violence  that,  entering  her  back  just  below 
the  shoulder,’  it  came  out  at  her  left  breast.  With  his 
tomahawk,  he  cleft  the  upper  part  of  her  head,  and  carried 
it  ofl’  to  save  the  scalp. 


246 


Withers's  Chronicles 


The  screams  of  the  women  alarmed  the  men  in  the 
fort;  and  seizing  their  guns,  they  ran  out,  just  as  Mrs. 
Freeman  fell.  Several  guns  were  fired  at  the  Indian  while 
lie  was  getting  her  scalp,  hut  with  no  effect.  They  served 
however,  to  warn  the  men  who  went  out,  that  danger  was 
at  hand;  and  they  quickly  came  in. 

Jesse  Hughs1  and  John  Schoolcraft  (who  were  out) 
in  making  their  way  to  the  fort,  came  very  near  two  In¬ 
dians  standing  by  the  fence  looking  towards  the  men  at 
West’s,  so  intently,  that  they  did  not  perceive  any  one 
near  them.  They  however,  were  observed  by  Hughs  and 
Schoolcraft,  who,  avoiding  them,  made  their  way  in,  safely, 
Hughs  immediately  took  up  his  gun,  and  learning  the  fate 
of  Mrs.  Freeman,  went  with  some  others  to  bring  in  the 
corpse.  While  there,  he  proposed  to  go  and  shew  them, 
how  near  he  had  approached  the  Indians  after  the  alarm 
had  been  given,  before  he  saw  them.  Charles  and  Alex¬ 
ander  West,  Chas.  Hughs,  James  Brown  and  John  Steeth,, 
went  with  him.  Before  they  had  arrived  at  the  place,  one 
of  the  Indians  was  heard  to  howl  like  a  wolf ;  and  the  men 
with  Hughs  moved  on  in  the  direction  from  which  the 
sound  proceeded.  Supposing  that  they  were  then  near 
the  spot,  Jesse  Hughs  howled  in  like  manner,  and  being 
instantly  answered,  they  ran  to  a  point  of  the  hill  and 
looking  over  it,  saw  two  Indians  coming  towards  them. 
Hughs  fired  and  one  of  them  fell.  The  other  took  to 
flight.  Being  pursued  by  the  whites,  he  sought  shelter  in 
a  thicket  of  brush ;  and  while  they  were  proceeding  to  in¬ 
tercept  him  at  his  coming  out,  he  returned  by  the  way  he 
had  entered,  and  made  his  escape.  The  wounded  Indian 
likewise  got  off'.  When  the  whites  were  in  pursuit  of  the 
one  who  took  to  flight,  they  passed  near  to  him  who  had 
fallen,  and  one  of  the  men  was  for  stopping  and  finishing 
him ;  but  Hughs  called  to  him,  u  he  is  safe — let  us  have 
the  other,”  and  they  all  pressed  forward.  On  their  return,, 
however,  he  was  gone;  and  although  his  free  bleeding  en¬ 
abled  them  to  pursue  his  track  readily  for  a  while,  yet  a 

1  See  p.  137,  note ,  for  notice  of  Jesse  Hughes ;  also,  Peyton’s  History 
of  Augusta  County ,  p.  353. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


247 


heavy  shower  of  rain  soon  falling,  all  trace  of  him  was 
quickly  lost  and  could  not  be  afterwards  regained. 

On  the  16th  of  June  as  Capt.  Janies  Booth  and 
Nathaniel  Cochran,  were  at  work  in  a  held  on  Booth's 
creek,  they  were  fired  at  by  [181]  the  Indians.  Booth  fell, 
but  Cochran,  being  very  slightly  wounded,  took  to  flight. 
He  was  however,  overtaken,  and  carried  into  captivity  to 
their  towns.  From  thence  he  was  taken  to  Detroit,  where 
he  remained  some  time ;  and  endeavoring  to  escape  from 
that  place,  unfortunately  took  a  path  which  led  him  im¬ 
mediately  to  the  Maumee  old  towns.  Here  he  was  de¬ 
tained  a  while,  &  then  sent  back  to  Detroit,  where  he  was 
exchanged,  and  from  whence  he  made  his  way  home,  after 
having  had  to  endure  much  suffering  and  many  hardships. 
The  loss  of  Booth  was  severely  felt  by  the  inhabitants  in 
that  settlement.  He  was  not  only  an  active  and  enter¬ 
prising  mau,  but  was  endowed  with  superior  talents,  and 
a  better  education  than  most  of  those  who  had  settled 
in  the  country;  and  on  these  accounts  was  very  much 
missed. 

In  a  few  days  after  this  transaction,  Benjamin  Shinn, 
Wm.  Grundy,  and  Benjamin  Washburn,  returning  from  a 
lick  on  the  head  of  Booth’s  creek,  were  fired  on  by  the 
Indians,  when  near  to  Baxter’s  run.  Washburn  and  Shinn 
escaped  unhurt,  but  Grundy  was  killed:  he  was  brother 
to  Felix  Grundy  of  Tennessee,  whose  father  was  then  re¬ 
siding  at  Simpson’s  creek,  at  a  farm  afterwTards  owned  by 
Colonel  Benjamin  Wilson,  senior. 

This  party  of  Indians  continued  for  some  days,  to 
prowl  about  the  neighborhood,  seeking  opportunities  of 
committing  murder  on  the  inhabitants ;  fortunately  how¬ 
ever,  with  but  little  success.  James  Owens,  a  youth  of  six¬ 
teen  years  of  age,  was  the  only  one  whom  they  succeeded 
in  killing  after  the  murder  of  Grundy.  Going  from  Pow¬ 
ers’  fort  on  Simpson’s  creek,  to  Booth’s  creek,  his  saddle 
girth  gave  way,  and  while  he  was  down  mending  it,  a  ball 
was  discharged  at  him,  which  killed  both  him  and  the 
horse. 

Seeing  that  the  whites,  in  that  neighborhood,  had  all 
retired  to  the  fort;  and  being  too  weak,  openly  to  attack 


248 


Withers's  Chronicles 


it,  they  crossed  over  to  Bartlett’s  run,  and  came  to  the 
house  of  Gilbert  Hustead,  who  was  then  alone,  and  en¬ 
gaged  in  fixing  his  gun  lock.  Hearing  a  noise  in  the  yard, 
for  which  he  was  unable  to  account,  he  slipped  to  the  door, 
to  ascertain  from  whence  it  proceeded.  The  Indians  were 
immediately  round  it,  and  there  was  no  chance  for  his 
escape.  Walking  out  with  an  air  of  the  utmost  pleas¬ 
antry,  he  held  forth  his  hand  to  the  one  nearest  him,  and 
asked  them  all  to  walk  in.  While  in  the  house  he  affected 
great  cheerfulness,  and  by  his  tale  [132]  won  their  confi¬ 
dence  and  friendship.  He  told  them  that  he  was  a  King’s 
man  and  unwilling  to  live  among  the  rebels ;  for  which 
reason,  when  others  retired  into  the  fort,  he  preferred 
staying  at  his  own  house,  anxiously  hoping  for  the  arrival 
of  some  of  the  British  Indians,  to  afford  him  an  opportu¬ 
nity  of  getting  among  English  friends.  Learning  upon 
enquiry,  that  they  would  be  glad  to  have  something  to  eat, 
he  asked  one  of  them  to  shoot  a  fat  hog  which  was  in  the 
yard,  that  they  might  regale  on  it  that  night,  and  have 
some  on  which  to  subsist  while  travelling  to  their  towns. 
In  the  morning,  still  farther  to  maintain  the  deception  he 
was  practising,  he  broke  his  furniture  to  pieces,  saying 
“  the  rebels  shall  never  have  the  good  of  you.”  He  then 
accompanied  them  to  their  towns,  acting  in  the  same,  ap¬ 
parently,  contented  and  cheerful  manner,  ’till  his  sincerity 
wras  believed  by  all,  and  he  obtained  leave  to  return  for 
his  family.  He  succeeded  in  making  his  way  home,  where 
he  remained,  sore  at  the  destruction  of  his  property,  but 
exulting  in  the  success  of  his  artifice. 

While  this  party  of  Indians  were  thus  engaged,  on 
Booth’s  creek  and  in  the  circumjacent  country,  a  more 
numerous  body  had  invaded  the  settlements  lower  down, 
and  were  employed  in  the  work  of  destruction  there. 
They  penetrated  to  Coburn’s  creek  unperceived,  and  were 
making  their  way  (as  was  generally  supposed)  to  a  fort 
not  far  from  Morgantown,  when  they  fell  in  with  a  party 
of  whites,  returning  from  the  labors  of  the  cornfield,  and 
then  about  a  mile,  from  Coburn’s  fort.  The  Indians  had 
placed  themselves  on  each  side  of  the  road  leading  to  the 
fort,  and  from  their  covert  fired  on  the  whites,  before  they 


249 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

were  aware  of  danger.  John  Woodfin  being  on  horse¬ 
back,  had  his  thigh  broken  by  a  ball;  which  killed  his 
horse  and  enabled  them  to  catch  him  easily. — Jacob  Mil¬ 
ler  was  shot  through  the  abdomen,  and  soon  overtaken, 
tomahawked  and  scalped. — The  others  escaped  to  the  fort. 

Woodfin  was  afterwards  found  on  a  considerable  emi¬ 
nence  overlooking  the  fort,  tomahawked  and  scalped. 
The  Indians  had,  most  probably,  taken  him  there,  that  he 
might  point  out  to  them  the  least  impregnable  part  of  the 
fortress,  and  in  other  respects  give  them  such  informa¬ 
tion,  as  would  tend  to  ensure  success  to  their  meditated 
attack  on  it;  but  when  they  heard  its  strength  and  the 
force  with  which  it  was  garrisoned,  despairing  of  being 
able  to  reduce  it,  in  a  fit  of  disappointed  fury,  they  mur¬ 
dered  him  on  the  spot. 

[183]  They  next  made  their  appearance  on  Dunkard 
creek,  and  near  to  Stradler’s  fort.  Here,  as  on  Coburn’s 
creek,  they  lay  in  ambush  on  the  road  side,  awaiting  the 
return  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  at  work,  in  some  of 
the  neighboring  fields.  Towards  evening  the  men  came 
on,  carrying  with  them  some  hogs  which  they  had  killed 
for  the  use  of  the  fort  people,  and  on  approaching  where 
the  Indians  lay  concealed,  were  fired  on  and  several  fell. 
Those  who  escaped  injury  from  the  first  fire,  returned  the 
shot,  and  a  severe  action  ensued.  But  so  many  of  the 
whites  had  been  killed  before  the  savages  exposed  them¬ 
selves  to  view,  that  the  remainder  were  unable  long  to 
sustain  the  unequal  contest.  Overpowered  by  numbers, 
the  few,  who  were  still  unhurt,  fled  precipitately  to  the 
fort,  leaving  eighteen  of  their  companions  dead  in  the 
road.  These  were  scalped  and  mangled  by  the  Indians  in 
a  most  shocking  manner,  and  lay  some  time,  before  the 
men  in  the  fort,  assured  of  the  departure  of  the  enemy, 
went  out  and  buried  them. 

Weakened  by  the  severe  loss  sustained  in  this  bloody 
skirmish,  had  the  Indians  pushed  forward  to  attack  the 
fort,  in  all  human  probability,  it  would  have  fallen  before 
them.  There  were  at  that  day  very  few  settlements  which 
could  have  maintained  possession  of  a  garrison  for  any 
length  of  time,  after  having  suffered  so  great  a  diminu- 


250 


Withers's  Chronicles 


tion  of  the  number  of  their  inhabitants,  against  the  on¬ 
sets  of  one  hundred  savages,  exercising  their  wonted 
energy:  and  still  less  would  they  be  able  to  leave  their 
strong  holds,  and  cope  with  such  superior  force,  in  open 
battle.  Nor  were  the  settlements,  as  yet,  sufficiently  con¬ 
tiguous  to  each  other,  to  admit  of  their  acting  in  concert,, 
and  combining  their  strength,  to  operate  effectively  against 
their  invaders.  When  alarmed  by  the  approach  of  the 
foe,  all  that  they  could  generally  do,  was,  retire  to  a  fortr 
and  endeavor  to  defend  it  from  assault.  If  the  savages,, 
coming  in  numbers,  succeeded  in  committing  any  outrage, 
it  usually  went  unpunished.  Sensible  of  their  want  of 
strength,  the  inhabitants  rarely  ventured  in  pursuit,  to 
harrass  or  molest  the  retiring  foe.  When,  however,  they 
would  hazard  to  hang  on  their  retreat,  the  many  precau¬ 
tions  which  they  were  compelled  to  exercise,  to  prevent 
falling  into  ambuscades  and  to  escape  the  entangling  arti¬ 
fices  of  their  wily  enemies,  frequently  rendered  their  en¬ 
terprises  abortive,  and  their  exertions  inefficient. 

[184]  The  frequent  visits  paid  by  the  Indians  to  the 
country  on  the  West  Fork,  and  the  mischief  which  they 
would  effect  at  these  times,  led  several  of  the  inhabitants 
to  resolve  on  leaving  a  place  so  full  of  dangers,  as  soon  as 
they  could  make  the  necessary  preparations.  A  family 
of  Washburns  particularly,  having  several  times  very  nar¬ 
rowly  escaped  destruction,  commenced  making  arrange¬ 
ments  and  fitting  up  for  their  departure.  But  while  two 
of  them  were  engaged  in  procuring  pine  knots,  from  which 
to  make  wax  for  shoemaking,  they  were  discovered,  and 
shot  at  by  the  Indians.  Stephen  fell  dead,  and  James  was 
taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  their  towns. — He  was  there 
forced  to  undergo  repeated  and  intense  suffering  before 
death  closed  the  scene  of  his  miseries. 

According  to  the  account  given  by  Nathaniel  Cochran 
on  his  return  from  captivity,  Washburn  was  most  severely 
beaten,  on  the  first  evening  of  his  arrival  at  their  village,, 
while  running  the  gauntlet;  and  although  he  succeeded  in 
getting  into  the  council  house,  where  Cochran  was,  yet 
he  was  so  disfigured  and  mutilated,  that  he  could  not  be 
recognised  by  his  old  acquaintance;  and  so  stunned  and 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


251 


stupified,  that  lie  remained  nearly  all  night  in  a  state  of 
insensibility.  Being  somewhat  revived  in  the  morning, 
he  walked  to  where  Cochran  sat  by  the  fire,  and  being 
asked  if  he  were  not  James  Washburn,  replied  with  a 
smile — as  if  a  period  had  been  put  to  his  sufferings  by  the 
sympathetic  tone  in  which  the  question  was  proposed — 
that  he  was.  The  gleam  of  hope  which  flashed  over  his 
countenance,  was  transient  and  momentary.  In  a  few 
minutes  he  was  again  led  forth,  that  the  barbarities  which 
had  been  suspended  by  the  interposition  of  night,  might 
be  revived ;  and  he  made  to  endure  a  repetition  of  their 
cruelties.  He  was  now  feeble  and  too  much  exhausted  to 
save  himself  from  the  clubs  and  sticks,  even  of  the  aged 
of  both  sexes.  The  old  men  and  the  old  women,  who  fol¬ 
lowed  him,  had  strength  and  activity  enough  to  keep  pace 
with  his  fleetest  progress,  and  inflict  on  him  their  severest 
blows.  Frequently  he  was  beaten  to  the  ground,  and  as 
frequently,  as  if  invigorated  by  the  extremity  of  anguish, 
he  rose  to  his  feet.  Hobbling  before  his  tormentors,  with 
no  hope  but  in  death,  an  old  savage  passed  a  knife  across 
his  ham,  which  cutting  the  tendons,  disabled  him  from 
proceeding  farther.  Stil-l  they  repeated  their  unmerciful 
blows  with  all  their  energy.  He  was  next  scalped,  though 
alive,  and  struggling  to  regain  his  feet.  [185]  Even  this 
did  not  operate  to  suppress  their  cruelty.  They  continued 
to  beat  him,  until  in  the  height  of  suffering  he  again  ex¬ 
hibited  symptoms  of  life  and  exerted  himself  to  move. 
His  head  was  then  severed  from  his  shoulders,  attached 
to  a  pole,  and  placed  in  the  most  public  situation  in  the 
village. 

After  the  attack  on  the  Washburns,  there  were  but 
two  other  outrages  committed  in  the  upper  country  dur¬ 
ing  that  season.  The  cessation  on  the  part  of  the  savages, 
of  hostile  incursions,  induced  an  abandonment  *  of  the 
forts,  and  the  people  returned  to  their  several  homes,  and 
respective  occupations.  But  aggression  was  only  sus¬ 
pended  for  a  time.  In  October,  two  Indians  appeared 
near  the  house  of  Conrad  Richards,  and  finding  in  the 
yard  a  little  girl  at  play,  with  an  infant  in  her  arms,  they 
scalped  her  and  rushed  to  the  door.  For  some  time  they 


252 


Withers's  Chronicles 


endeavored  to  force  it  open ;  but  it  was  so  securely  fast¬ 
ened  within,  that  Richards  was  at  liberty  to  use  his  gun 
for  its  defence.  A  fortunate  aim  wounded  one  of  the  as¬ 
sailants  severely,  and  the  other  retreated,  helping  off  his 
companion.  The  girl  who  had  been  scalped  in  the  yard, 
as  soon  as  she  observed  the  Indians  going  away,  ran, 
with  the  infant  still  in  her  arms  and  uninjured,  and  en¬ 
tered  the  house — a  spectacle  of  most  heart-rending  wretch¬ 
edness. 

Soon  after,  David  Edwards,  returning  from  Winches¬ 
ter  wTith  salt,  vTas  shot  near  the  Valley  river,  tomahawked 
and  scalped;  in  which  situation  he  lay  for  some  time  be¬ 
fore  he  v'as  discovered.  He  was  the  last  person  vrho  fell 
a  victim  to  savage  vengeance,  in  North  Western  Virginia 
in  the  year  1778. 

The  repeated  irruptions  of  the  Indians  during  the 
summer  of  the  year; 1  and  the  frequent  murders  and  great 
devastation  committed  by  them,  induced  Government  to 
undertake  two  expeditions  into  the  Indian  country.  One 
thousand  men  vrere  placed  under  the  command  of  General 
McIntosh,  some  time  in  the  fall,  and  he  received  orders  to 
proceed  forthwith  against  the  Sandusky  tovms.  Between 
twro  and  three  hundred  soldiers  were  likewise  placed  un¬ 
der  Colonel  Clarke,  to  operate  against  the  Canadian  settle¬ 
ments  in  Illinois.  It  W’as  v^ell  known  that  the  Governor 
of  those  settlements  w^as  an  indefatigable  agent  of  British 
cruelty,  stimulating  the  savages  to  aggression,  and  paying 
them  wrell  for  scalps,  torn  alike  from  the  heads  of  the 
aged  matron  and  the  helpless  infant.2  [186]  The  settle¬ 
ments  in  Kentucky,  were  constantly  the  theatre  of  outrage 
and  murder;  and  to  preserve  these  from  entire  destruc¬ 
tion,  it  vTas  necessary  that  a  blow  should  be  aimed,  at  the 

1  These  war  parties  largely  emanated  from  the  Detroit  region. 
Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton,  the  British  commander  at  Detroit, 
writing  to  his  superior,  General  Haldimand,  September  16,  177S,  men¬ 
tions  incidentally  that  he  sent  out  small  parties  of  Miamis  and  Chippe- 
was,  August  5,  and  September  5  and  9 ;  these  were  but  three  of  dozens 
of  such  forays  which  he  incited  against  the  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania 
borders,  during  that  year. — R.  G.  T. 

1  This  reference  is  to  Lieut.-Governor  Hamilton,  whom  George 
Rogers  Clark  called  “  the  hair-buying  general.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


253 


hives  from  which  the  savages  swarmed,  and  if  possible, 
that  those  holds,  into  which  they  would  retire  to  reap  the 
rewards  of  their  cruelties  and  receive  the  price  of  blood, 
should  be  utterly  broken  up.  The  success  of  those  two 
expeditions  could  not  fail  to  check  savage  encroachments, 
and  give  quiet  and  security  to  the  frontier ;  and  although 
the  armies  destined  to  achieve  it,  were  not  altogether  ade¬ 
quate  to  the  service  required,  yet  the  known  activity  and 
enterprize  of  the  commanding  officers,  joined  to  their 
prudence  and  good  conduct,  and  the  bravery  and  indefat¬ 
igable  perseverance  and  hardiness  of  the  troops,  gave 
promise  of  a  happy  result. 

The  success  of  the  expedition  under  Colonel  Clarke,1 

1  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  was  born  November  19,  1752,  near 
Monticello,  Albemarle  County,  Va.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  prac¬ 
ticing  his  profession  as  a  surveyor  on  the  upper  Ohio,  and  took  up  a 
claim  at  the  mouth  of  Fish  Creek.  In  1774,  he  participated  as  a  captain 
in  Dunmore’s  campaign  against  the  Shawnees  and  Mingoes.  Early  in 
1775,  Clark  went  as  a  surveyor  to  Kentucky,  where  he  acquired  marked 
popularity,  and  in  1776  was  elected  as  “  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia  con¬ 
vention,  to  urge  upon  the  state  authorities  the  claims  of  the  colony  for 
government  and  defense.”  He  secured  the  formation  of  the  new 
county  of  Kentucky,  and  a  supply  of  ammunition  for  the  defense  of  the 
border.  In  1777,  Clark,  now  a  major  of  militia,  repelled  the  Indian 
attacks  on  Harrodsburg,  and  proceeded  on  foot  to  Virginia  to  lay  before 
the  state  authorities  his  plan  for  capturing  the  Illinois  country  and  re¬ 
pressing  the  Indian  forays  from  that  quarter.  His  scheme  being  ap¬ 
proved,  he  was  made  a  lieutenant-colonel,  and  at  once  set  out  to  raise 
for  the  expedition  a  small  force  of  hardy  frontiersmen.  He  rendez¬ 
voused  and  drilled  his  little  army  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  on  Corn  Island 
in  the  Ohio  river,  at  the  head  of  the  Falls  (or  rapids),  opposite  the 
present  city  of  Louisville.  June  24,  1778,  he  started  in  boats  down 
the  Ohio,  and  landed  near  the  deserted  Fort  Massac,  which  was  on  the 
north  bank,  ten  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee ;  thence 
marching  across  country,  much  pressed  for  food,  he  reached  Kaskaskia 
in  six  days.  The  inhabitants  there  were  surprised  and  coerced  during 
the  night  of  July  4—5,  without  the  firing  of  a  gun.  Cahokia  and  Vin¬ 
cennes  soon  quietly  succumbed  to  his  influence.  Lieut.-Governor  Ham¬ 
ilton,  on  hearing  of  this  loss  of  the  Illinois  country  and  the  partial 
defection  to  the  Americans  of  the  tribes  west  and  sonthwest  of  Lake 
Michigan,  at  once  set  out  to  organize  an  army,  chiefly  composed  of  In¬ 
dians,  to  retake  the  Illinois.  He  proceeded  via  the  Wabash  and 
Maumee,  with  eight  hundred  men,  and  recaptured  Vincennes,  Decem¬ 
ber  17. 

The  intelligence  of  this  movement  of  Hamilton  was  not  long  in 
reaching  Clark  at  Kaskaskia,  and  he  at  once  set  out  for  Vincennes  to 


254 


Withers's  Chronicles 


fully  realized  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  those, 
who  were  acquainted  with  the  adventurous  and  enterpris¬ 
ing  spirit  of  its  commander;  and  was  productive  of  essen¬ 
tial  benefit  to  the  state,  as  well  as  of  comparative  security  to 
the  border  settlements.  Descending  the  Ohio  river,  from 
Fort  Pitt  to  the  Falls,  he  there  landed  his  troops,  and  con¬ 
cealing  his  boats,  marched  directly  towards  Kaskaskias. 
Their  provisions,  which  were  carried  on  their  backs,  were 
soon  exhausted  ;  and  for  two  days,  the  army  subsisted  en¬ 
tirely  on  roots.  This  was  the  only  circumstance,  which 

recapture  it.  The  march  thither  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  in  Ameri¬ 
can  military  annals.  Hamilton  surrendered  to  him,  February  25,  and 
was  forwarded  to  Virginia  as  a  prisoner.  Early  in  1780  he  established 
Fort  Jefferson,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  later  in  the  sea¬ 
son  aided  in  repelling  a  body  of  British  and  Indians  who  had  come  to 
regain  the  Illinois  country  and  attack  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Louis.  Leav¬ 
ing  Colonel  Montgomery  to  pursue  the  enemy  up  the  Mississippi, 
Clark,  with  what  force  could  be  spared,  hastened  to  Kentucky,  where 
he  quickly  raised  a  thousand  men,  and  invaded  and  laid  waste  the 
Shawnee  villages,  in  retaliation  for  Capt.  Henry  Bird’s  invasion  (see 
p.  262,  note). 

Later,  he  was  engaged  in  some  minor  forays,  and  was  appointed  a 
brigadier-general;  but  his  favorite  scheme  of  an  expedition  to  conquer 
Detroit  miscarried,  owing  to  the  poverty  of  Virginia  and  the  activity  of 
the  enemy  under  Brant,  McKee,  Girty,  and  other  border  leaders.  In 
1782  Clark  led  a  thousand  men  in  a  successful  campaign  against  the  In¬ 
dians  on  the  Great  Miami.  This  was  his  last  important  service,  his 
subsequent  expeditions  proving  failures.  His  later  years  were  spent  in 
poverty  and  seclusion,  and  his  social  habits  became  none  of  the  best. 
In  1793  he  imprudently  accepted  a  commission  as  major-general  from 
Genet,  the  French  diplomatic  agent,  and  essayed  to  raise  a  French  revo¬ 
lutionary  legion  in  the  West  to  overcome  the  Spanish  settlements  on  the 
Mississippi;  upon  Genet’s  recall,  Clark’s  commission  was  canceled. 
Later,  he  sought  to  secure  employment  under  the  Spanish  (see  p.  130, 
note.)  He  died  February  18,  1818,  at  Locust  Grove,  near  Louisville,  and 
lies  buried  at  Cave  Hill,  in  the  Louisville  suburbs.  In  his  article  on 
Clark,  in  Appleton’s  Cyclop,  of  Amer.  Biog ..  i.,  pp.  626,  627,  Dr.  Draper 
says:  “  Clark  was  tall  and  commanding,  brave  and  full  of  resources, 
possessing  the  affection  and  confidence  of  his  men.  All  that  rich 
domain  northwest  of  the  Ohio  was  secured  to  the  republic,  at  the  peace 
of  1783,  in  consequence  of  his  prowess.”  Cf.  William  F.  Poole,  in 
Winsor’s  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist.  Amer..  vi.,  pp.  710-742.  While  due  credit 
should  be  given  to  Clark  for  his  daring  and  successful  undertaking,  we 
must  not  forget  that  England’s  jealousy  of  Spain,  and  shrewd  diplomacy 
on  the  part  of  America's  peace  plenipotentiaries,  were  factors  even  more 
potent  in  winning  the  Northwest  for  the  United  States.— R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


255 


occurred  during  their  march,  calculated  to  damp  the 
ardor  of  the  troops.  No  hand  of  savage  warriors,  had 
interposed  to  check  their  progress, — no  straggling  Indian, 
had  discovered  their  approach.  These  fortunate  omens 
inspired  them  with  flattering  hopes;  and  they  pushed  for¬ 
ward,  with  augmented  energy.  Arriving  before  Kaskaskias 
in  the  night,  they  entered  it,  unseen  and  unheard,  and 
took  possession  of  the  town  and  fort,  without  opposition. 
Relying  on  the  thick  and  wide  extended  forests  which  in¬ 
terposed  between  them  and  the  American  settlements,  the 
inhabitants  had  been  lulled  to  repose  by  fancied  security, 
and  were  unconscious  of  danger  until  it  had  become  too 
late  to  be  avoided.  Not  a  single  individual  escaped,  to 
spread  the  alarm  in  the  adjacent  settlements. 

But  there  still  remained  other  towns,  higher  up  the 
Mississippi,  which,  if  unconquered,  would  still  afford 
shelter  to  the  savages  and  furnish  them  the  means  of  an¬ 
noyance  and  of  ravage.  Against  these,  Colonel  Clarke 
immediately  directed  [187]  operations.  Mounting  a  de¬ 
tachment  of  men,  on  horses  found  at  Kaskaskias,  and 
sending  them  forward,  three  other  towns  were  reduced 
with  equal  success.  The  obnoxious  governor  at  Kaskas¬ 
kias  was  sent  directly  to  Virginia,  with  the  written  in¬ 
structions  which  he  had  received  from  Quebec,  Detroit 
and  Michillimacinac,  for  exciting  the  Indians  to  war,  and 
remunerating  them  for  the  blood  which  they  might  shed. 

Although  the  country  within  which  Colonel  Clarke 
had  so  successfully  carried  on  operations,  was  considered 
to  be  within  the  limits  of  Virginia;  yet  as  it  was  occupied 
by  savages  and  those  who  were  hut  little,  if  any,  less  hos¬ 
tile  than  they;  and  being  so  remote  from  her  settlements, 
Virginia  had  as  yet  exercised  no  act  of  jurisdiction  over 
it.  But  as  it  now  belonged  to  her,  by  conquest  as  well  as 
charter,  the  General  Assembly  created  it  into  a  distinct 
county,  to  be  called  Illinois;  a  temporary  government  was 
likewise  established  in  it,  and  a  regiment  of  infantry  and 
a  troop  of  cavalry,  ordered  to  be  enlisted  for  its  defence, 
and  placed  under  the  command  of  its  intrepid  and  enter¬ 
prising  conqueror. 

The  expedition  directed  under  General  McIntosh,  was 


256 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


not  equally  successful.  The  difficulty  of  raising,  equip¬ 
ping,  and  organizing,  so  large  a  force  as  was  placed  under 
his  command,  at  so  great  a  distance  from  the  populous 
district  of  the  state,  caused  the  consumption  of  so  much 
time,  that  the  season  for  carrying  on  effective  operations 
had  well  nigh  passed  before  he  was  prepared  to  commence 
his  march.  Anxious  however,  to  achieve  as  much  as  could 
then  be  effected  for  the  security  of  the  frontier,  he  pene¬ 
trated  the  enemy’s  country,  as  far  as  Tuscarawa,  when  it 
was  resolved  to  build  and  garrison  a  fort,  and  delay  farther 
operations  ’till  the  ensuing  spring.  Fort  Laurens  was  ac¬ 
cordingly  erected  on  the  banks  of  the  Tuscarawa,  a  garri¬ 
son  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  John  Gibson,  left  for  its  preservation,  and  the  main 
army  returned  to  Fort  Pitt. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


257 


[188]  CHAPTER  XI. 

No  sooner  had  the  adventurous  advance  of  Col.  Clarke, 
and  the  success  with  which  it  was  crowned,  become  known 
at  Detroit,  than  preparations  were  made  to  expel  him 
from  Kaskaskias,  or  capture  his  little  army,  and  thus  rid 
the  country  of  this  obstacle  to  the  unmolested  passage  of 
the  savages,  to  the  frontier  of  Virginia.  An  army  of  six 
hundred  men,  principally  Indians,  led  on  by  Hamilton,  the 
governor  of  Detroit — a  man  at  once  bold  and  active,  yet 
blood-thirsty  and  cruel,  and  well  known  as  a  chief  insti¬ 
gator  of  the  savages  to  war,  and  as  a  stay  and  prop  of  to¬ 
nes — left  Detroit  and  proceeded  towards  the  theatre  of 
Clarke’s  renown.  With  this  force,  he  calculated  on  being 
able  to  effect  his  purpose  as  regarded  Col.  Clarke  and  his 
little  band  of  bold  and  daring  adventurers,  and  to  spread 
devastation  and  death  along  the  frontier,  from  Kentucky 
to  Pennsylvania.  Arriving  at  Fort  St.  Vincent,1  on  the 
Wabash,  about  the  middle  of  December,  and  deeming  it 
too  late  to  advance  towards  Kaskaskias,  he  repaired  its 
battlements  and  converting  it  into  a  repository  for  war-  * 
like  implements  of  every  description,  he  detached  the 
greater  part  of  his  force  in  marauding  parties  to  operate 
against  the  settlements  on  the  Ohio  river,  reserving  for 
the  security  of  his  head  quarters  only  one  company  of 
men. 

While  these  alarming  preparations  were  being  made, 
Col.  Clarke  was  actively  engaged  in  acquiring  an  ascend¬ 
ency  over  the  neighboring  tribes  of  Indians;  and  in  en¬ 
deavors  to  attach  them  to  the  cause  of  the  United  States, 
from  principle  or  fear.  The  aid  which  had  been  voted 
him,  fell  far  short  of  [189]  the  contemplated  assistance, 
and  had  not  yet  arrived ;  but  his  genius  and  activity  am¬ 
ply  compensated  for  the  deficiency.  In  the  heart  of  an 

1  Called  by  the  English,  Fort  Sackville. — R.  G.  T. 

17 


258 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


Indian  country, — remote  from  every  succour, — and  in  the 
vicinity  of  powerful  and  hostile  tribes,  he  yet  not  only 
maintained  his  conquest  and  averted  injury,  but  carried 
terror  and  dismay  into  the  very  strongholds  of  the  sav¬ 
ages.  Intelligence  of  the  movement  of  Hamilton  at  length 
reached  him,  and  hostile  parties  of  Indians  soon  hovered 
around  Kaskaskias.  Undismayed  by  the  tempest  which 
was  gathering  over  him,  he  concentrated  his  forces,  with¬ 
drawing  garrisons  from  the  other  towns  to  strengthen 
this,  and  made  every  preparation  to  enable  him  to  endure 
a  siege,  and  withstand  the  assault  of  a  powerful  army. 
The  idea  of  abandoning  the  country  never  occurred  to 
him.  lie  did  not  despair  of  being  able  to  maintain  his 
position,  and  he  and  his  gallant  band  resolved  that  they 
would  do  it,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  In  this  fearful 
juncture,  all  was  activity  and  industry,  when  the  arrival 
of  a  Spanish  merchant  who  had  been  at  St.  Vincents 
brought  information  of  the  reduced  state  of  Hamilton’s 
army.1  Convinced  that  a  crisis  had  now  arrived,  Clarke 
resolved  by  one  bold  stroke  to  change  the  aspect  of  affairs, 
and  instead  of  farther  preparing  to  resist  attack,  himself 
to  become  the  assailant.  For  this  purpose,  a  galley, 
mounting  two  four  pounders  and  four  swivels,  and  having 
on  board  a  company  of  men,  was  despatched,  with  orders 
to  the  commanding  officer,  to  ascend  the  Wabash  and  sta¬ 
tion  himself  a  few  miles  below  St.  Vincents,  allowing  no 
one  to  pass  him  until  the  arrival  of  the  main  army.  Gar¬ 
risoning  Kaskaskias,  with  militia,  and  embodying  the  in¬ 
habitants  for  the  protection  of  the  other  towns,  Colonel 
Clarke  set  forward  on  his  march  across  the  country,  on 
the  7th  of  February,  1779,  at  the  head  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  brave  and  intrepid  men.2 

1  From  Clark’s  Journal:  “January  29. — M.  Vigo,  a  Spanish  sub¬ 
ject  who  had  been  at  Post  St.  Vincents  on  his  lawful  business,  arrived 
and  gave  us  intelligence  that  Governor  Hamilton,  with  thirty  regulars 
and  fifty  volunteers  and  about  400  Indians,  had  arrived  in  November 
and  taken  that  post  with  Capt.  Helms  and  such  other  Americans  who 
were  there  with  arms,  and  disarmed  the  settlers  and  inhabitants.” — 
R.  G.  T. 

2  Forty-six  men,  under  Lieut.  John  Rogers,  went  with  the  artillery 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


259 


Such  wa3  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  so  many 
and  great  the  obstacles  which  interposed,  that  in  despite 
of  the  ardor,  perseverance  and  energy  of  the  troops,  they 
could  yet  advance  very  slowly  towards  the  point  of  desti¬ 
nation.  They  were  five  days  in  crossing  the  drowned 
lands  of  the  Wabash,  and  for  five  miles  had  to  wade 
through  water  and  ice,  frequently  up  to  their  breasts. 
They  overcame  every  difficulty  and  arrived  before  St.  Vin¬ 
cents  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-third  of  February  and 
almost  simultaneously  with  the  galley. 

Thus  far  fortune  seemed  to  favor  the  expedition.  The 
army  had  not  been  discovered  on  its  march,  and  the  gar¬ 
rison  was  totally  ignorant  of  its  approach.  Much  how¬ 
ever  yet  remained  to  be  done.  They  had  arrived  within 
view  of  the  enemy,  but  the  battle  was  yet  to  be  fought. 

Sensible  of  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  com¬ 
mencing  the  attack,  while  the  enemy  was  ignorant  of  his 
approach,  at  seven  o’clock  he  marched  to  the  assault.  The 
inhabitants  instead  of  offering  opposition,  received  the 
troops  with  gladness,  and  surrendering  [190]  the  town,  en¬ 
gaged  with  alacrity  in  the  siege  of  the  fort.  For  eight¬ 
een  hours  the  garrison  resisted  the  repeated  onsets  of  the 
assailants;  but  during  the  night  succeeding  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  attack,  Colonel  Clarke  had  an  entrench¬ 
ment  thrown  up  within  rifle  shot  of  the  enemy’s  strongest 
battery,  and  in  the  morning,  from  this  position,  poured 
•upon  it  such  a  well-directed  shower  of  balls,  that  in  fifteen 
minutes  he  silenced  two  pieces  of  cannon  without  sustain¬ 
ing  any  loss  whatever.  The  advantages  thus  gained,  in¬ 
duced  Hamilton  to  demand  a  parley,  intimating  an  inten¬ 
tion  of  surrendering.  The  terms  were  soon  arranged. 
The  governor  and  garrison  became  prisoners  of  war,  and 
a  considerable  quantity  of  military  stores  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  conqueror.* 1 

and  stores,  in  a  large  galley  or  batteau,  called  the  “  Willing.”  The  dis¬ 
tance  to  Vincennes  by  land,  was  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles. — R.  G.  T. 

1  The  originals  of  the  correspondence  between  Clark  and  Hamilton 
are,  with  much  other  MS.  material  relative  to  the  movements  of  Clark, 
in  possession  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society.  Hamilton’s  letter,  in 
a  neat,  scholarly  hand,  ran  : 

“  Lieutenant  Governor  Hamilton  proposes  to  Colonel  Clark  a  Truce 


260 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


During  the  continuance  of  the  siege,  Colonel  Clarke 
received  information  that  a  party  of  Indians  which  had 
been  detached  by  Hamilton  to  harrass  the  frontiers,  was 
returning  and  then  near  to  St.  Vincents  with  two  prison¬ 
ers.  He  immediately  ordered  a  detachment  of  his  men  to 
march  out  and  give  them  battle — nine  Indians  were  taken 
and  the  two  prisoners  released. 

History  records  but  few  enterprises,  which  display  as 
strikingly  the  prominent  features  of  military  greatness, 
and  evince  so  much  of  the  genius  and  daring  which  are 
necessary  to  their  successful  termination,  as  this;  while 
the  motives  which  led  to  its  delineation,  were  such,  as 
must  excite  universal  admiration.  Bold  and  daring,  yet 
generous  and  disinterested,  Colonel  Clarke  sought  not  his 
individual  advancement  in  the  projection  or  execution  of 
this  campaign.  It  was  not  to  gratify  the  longings  of  am¬ 
bition,  or  an  inordinate  love  of  fame,  that  prompted  him 
to  penetrate  the  Indian  country  to  the  Kaskaskias,  nor 
that  tempted  him  forth  from  thence,  to  war  with  the  gar¬ 
rison  at  St.  Vincent.  He  was  not  one  of 

for  three  days,  during  which  time  he  promises,  there  shall  not  be  any 
defensive  work  carried  on  in  the  Garrison,  on  Condition  Colo!  Clark 
shall  observe  on  his  part  a  like  cessation  from  any  offensive  Work — 

“He  further  proposes  that  whatever  may  pass  between  them  two 
and  any  persons  (mutually  agreed  upon  to  be)  present,  shall  remain  se¬ 
cret,  till  matters  be  finally  concluded — 

“  As  he  wishes  that  whatever  the  result  of  their  conference  may  be 
the  honor  and  credit  of  each  party  may  be  considered,  so  he  wishes  to 
confer  with  Colo!  Clark  as  soon  as  may  be — 

“  As  Colo!  Clark  makes  a  difficulty  of  coming  into  the  Garrison, 
L!  G.  Hamilton  will  speak  with  him  before  the  Gate — 

Henry  Hamilton. 

“  Feb?  24*  1779— Fort  Sackville— ” 

Clark’s  gruff  reply,  in  rugged,  but  not  unclerical  chirography,  was 
as  follows : 

“  Colonel  Clark’s  Compliments  to  M?  Hamilton  and  begs  leave  to 
inform  him  that  Co!  Clark  will  not  agree  to  any  Other  Terms  than  that 
of  Mf  Hamilton’s  Surrendering  himself  and  Garrison,  Prisoners  at 
Discretion — 

“  If  Mf  Hamilton  is  Desirous  of  a  Conferance  with  Co!  Clark  he 
will  meet  him  at  the  Church  with  Capt“  Helms — 

“  Feb?  24*  1779.  G.  R.  Clark.”— R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


261 


“  Those  worshippers  of  glory, 

Who  bathe  the  earth  in  blood, 

And  launch  proud  names  for  an  after  age, 

Upon  the  crimson  flood.” 

The  distress  and  sufferings  of  the  frontier  of  Vir¬ 
ginia  required  that  a  period  should  speedily  be  put  to  them, 
to  preserve  the  country  from  ravage  and  its  inhabitants 
from  butchery.  Clarke  had  seen  and  participated  in  that 
distress  and  those  sufferings,  and  put  in  requisition  every 
faculty  of  his  mind  and  all  the  energies  of  his  body,  to  al¬ 
leviate  and  prevent  them.  Providence  smiled  on  his  un¬ 
dertaking,  and  his  exertions  were  crowned  with  complete 
success.  The  plan  which  had  been  concerted  for  the  en¬ 
suing  campaign  against  the  frontier  of  Virginia,  threat¬ 
ening  to  involve  the  whole  country  west  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains  in  destruction  and  death,  was  thus  happily 
frustrated;  and  he,  who  had  been  mainly  instrumental  in 
impelling  the  savages  to  war,  and  in  permitting,  if  not  in¬ 
stigating  them  to  the  commission  of  the  most  atrocious 
barbarities,  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  So 
justly  obnoxious  had  he  [191]  rendered  himself  by  his 
conduct,  that  a  more  than  ordinary  rigor  was  practised 
upon  him;  and  by  the  orders  of  the  governor  of  Virginia, 
the  governor  of  Detroit  was  manacled  with  irons,  and  con¬ 
fined  in  jail.1 

Far  different  was  the  termination  of  the  enterprise 
entrusted  to  the  conduct  of  G-eneral  McIntosh.  It  has 
been  already  seen  that  the  approach  of  winter  forced  the 
main  army  to  retire  to  the  settlements  into  winter  quar¬ 
ters,  before  they  were  able  to  accomplish  any  thing,  but 
the  erection  of  Fort  Laurens.2  Colonel  Gibson,  the  com¬ 
mandant  of  the  garrison,  though  a  brave  and  enterprising 
officer,  was  so  situated,  that  the  preservation  of  the  fort, 

1  Hamilton,  in  a  letter  of  July  6,  1781,  contained  in  the  Haldimand 
Papers,  in  the  British  Museum,  gives  what  he  calls  “  a  brief  account”  of 
his  ill-starred  expedition.  See  Roosevelt's  Winning  of  the  West ,  passim. —  . 
R.  G.  T. 

J  On  the  Tuscarawas  River,  about  ten  miles  north  of  the  present 
New  Philadelphia,  O.,  and  a  mile  south  of  what  is  now  Bolivar,  Tus¬ 
carawas  County.  At  the  time  Withers  alludes  to,  it  was  garrisoned  by 
150  men  under  Col.  John  Gibson.— R.  G.  T,  * 


262 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


was  all  which  he  could  accomplish ;  and  this  was  no  little 
hazard  of  failure,  from  the  very  superior  force  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  scarcity  of  provisions  for  the  subsistance 
of  the  garrison.  So  soon  as  the  Indians  became  acquainted 
with  the  existence  of  a  fort  so  far  in  their  country,  they  put 
in  practice  those  arts  which  enable  them,  so  successfully  to 
annoy  their  enemies. 

Early  in  January,  a  considerable  body  of  savages  ap¬ 
proached  Fort  Laurens  unperceived  and  before  the  garri¬ 
son  was  apprised  that  an  Indian  knew  of  its  erection.1  In 
the  course  of  the  night  they  succeeded  in  catching  the 
horses  outside  of  the  fort;  and  taking  off  their  bells,  car¬ 
ried  them  into  the  woods,  some  distance  off.  They  then 
concealed  themselves  in  the  prairie  grass,  along  a  path 
leading  from  the  fort,  and  in  the  morning  commenced 
rattling  the  bells,  at  the  farther  extremity  of  the  line  of 
ambushment,  so  as  to  induce  the  belief  that  the  horses  was 
there  to  be  found.  The  stratagem  succeeded.  Sixteen 
men  were  sent  out  to  bring  in  the  horses.  Allured  by  the 
sound  of  the  bells,  they  kept  the  path,  along  which  the- 
Indians  lay  concealed,  until  they  found  themselves  unex¬ 
pectedly  in  the  presence  of  an  enemy,  who  opened  upon 
them  a  destructive  fire  from  front  and  rear.  Fourteen 
were  killed  on  the  spot,  and  the  remaining  two  were  taken 
prisoners. 


1  Simon  Girty  and  seventeen  Indians,  mostly  Mingoes.  Withers 
confounds  this  raid  with  the  more  formidable  siege  in  February  and 
March.  In  the  January  assault,  Girty’s  band  ambushed  Capt.  John 
Clark,  a  sergeant,  and  fourteen  men,  returning  to  Fort  Pitt  from  con¬ 
voying  provisions  to  Fort  Laurens.  Two  whites  were  killed,  four 
wounded,  and  one  taken  prisoner.  In  February,  came  an  attacking 
party  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians  (mostly  Wyandots  and  Min¬ 
goes),  led  by  Capt.  Henry  Bird,  of  the  Eighth  (or  King’s)  Regiment; 
with  him  were  Simon  Girty  and  ten  soldiers.  The  enemy  arrived  Feb¬ 
ruary  22,  but  remained  in  hiding.  The  next  day  Gibson  sent  out  a 
guard  of  eighteen  men,  despite  warnings  of  the  enemy’s  presence,  to 
assist  the  wagoner  in  collecting  the  horses  of  the  fort.  All  the  party 
were  killed  and  scalped,  within  sight  of  the  fort,  save  two,  who  were 
made  prisoners.  The  fort  was  then  openly  invested  until  March  20, 
when  the  besiegers  withdrew,  torn  with  dissensions  and  short  of  sup¬ 
plies.  See  Butterfield’s  Washington- Irvine  Correspondence  for  further  de¬ 
tails.— R.  G.  T. 


2G3 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  this  unfortunate 
surprise  took  place,  the  Indian  army,  consisting  of  eight 
hundred  and  forty-seven  warriors,  painted  and  equipped 
for  war,  marched  in  single  file  through  a  prairie  near  the 
tort  and  in  full  view  of  the  garrison,  and  encamped  on  an 
adjacent  elevation  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  From 
this  situation,  frequent  conversations  were  held  by  them 
with  the  whites,  in  which  they  deprecated  the  longer  con¬ 
tinuance  of  hostilities,  but  yet  protested  against  the  en¬ 
croachment  made  upon  their  territory  by  the  whites,  the 
erection  of  a  fort  and  the  garrisoning  soldiers  within  their 
country,  not  only  unpermitted  by  them,  but  for  some  time 
before  they  knew  any  thing  of  it.  For  these  infringements 
on  their  rights,  they  were  determined  on  prosecuting  the 
war,  and  continued  the  investure  of  the  fort,  for  six  weeks. 
In  this  time  they  became  straitened  for  provisions,  and 
aware  that  without  a  fresh  supply  of  them,  they  would  be 
forced  to  abandon  the  siege,  they  sent  word  to  the  com¬ 
mander  of  the  garrison,  by  a  Delaware  [192]  Indian,  calling 
himself  John  Thompson,  (who,  though  with  the  whites  in 
the  fort,  was  permitted  by  both  parties  to  go  in  and  out,  as 
he  choose)  that  they  were  desirous  of  peace,  and  were  willing 
to  enter  into  a  negotiation,  if  he  would  send  them  a  bar¬ 
rel  of  flour  and  some  tobacco.  Scarce  as  these  articles  had 
actually  become  in  the  garrison,  yet  Col.  Gibson  complied 
with  their  request,  hoping  that  they  might  be  induced  to 
make  peace,  or  withdraw  from  the  fort,  and  hopeless  of 
timely  succours  from  the  settlements.  Upon  the  receipt  of 
those  presents,  the  Indians  raised  the  siege  and  marched 
their  army  off,  much  to  the  relief  of  the  garrison,  although 
they  did  not  fulfil  their  promise  of  entering  into  a  treaty. 

During  the  time  the  Indians  remained  about  the  fort, 
there  was  much  sickness  in  the  garrison ;  and  when  they 
were  believed  to  have  retired,  the  commandant  detached 
Col.  Clarke,  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,1  with  a  party  of 
fifteen  men,  to  escort  the  invalids  to  Fort  McIntosh.  They 
proceeded  but  a  small  distance  from  the  gate,  where  they 

1  Not  to  be  confounded  with  George  Rogers  Clark,  of  Kentucky. — 
R.  G.  T. 


264 


Withers's  Chronicles 


were  attacked  by  some  Indians,  who  had  been  left  con- 
cealed  near  the  fort,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  farther 
mischief.  A  skirmish  ensued  ;  but  overpowered  by  num¬ 
bers  and  much  galled  by  the  first  fire,  Col.  Clarke  could 
not  maintain  the  conflict.  With  much  difficulty,  he  and 
three  others  reached  the  fort  in  safety:  the  rest  of  the 
party  were  all  killed. 

Col.  Gibson  immediately  marched  out  at  the  head  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  garrison,  but  the  Indians  had  re¬ 
treated  as  soon  as  they  succeeded  in  cutting  off  the  de¬ 
tachment  under  Col.  Clarke,  and  prudence  forbade  to  pro¬ 
ceed  in  pursuit  of  them,  as  the  main  army  was  believed  to 
be  yet  in  the  neighborhood.  The  dead  were  however 
brought  in,  and  buried  with  the  honors  of  war,  in  front  of 
the  fort  gate. 

In  a  few  days  after  this,  Gen.  McIntosh  arrived  with 
a  considerable  body  of  troops  and  a  supply  of  provisions 
for  the  garrison.  W^hile  the  savages^  were  continuing  the 
siege,  a  friendly  Indian,  had  been  despatched  by  Col.  Gib¬ 
son  to  acquaint  Gen.  McIntosh  with  the  situation  at  Fort 
Laurens,  and  that  without  the  speedy  arrival  of  a  rein¬ 
forcement  of  men  and  an  accession  to  their  stock  of  pro¬ 
visions,  the  garrison  would  have  to  surrender;  or  seek  a 
doubtful  safety,  by  evacuating  the  fort  and  endeavoring  to 
regain  the  Ohio  river,  in  the  presence  of  an  overwhelming 
body  of  the  enemy.  "With  great  promptitude  the  settlers 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  Gen.  McIntosh,  and  loading 
pack  horses,  with  abundance  of  provisions  for  the  supply 
of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Laurens,  commenced  a  rapid  march 
to  their  relief.  Before  their  arrival,  they  had  been  re¬ 
lieved  from  the  most  pressing  danger,  by  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Indian  army;  and  were  only  suffering  from  the 
want  of  flour  and  meat.  A  manifestation  of  the  great  joy 
felt  upon  the  arrival  of  Gen.  McIntosh,  had  well  nigh  de¬ 
prived  them  of  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the  pro¬ 
visions  brought  for  them.  WThen  the  relief  army  ap¬ 
proached  the  fort,  a  salute  was  fired  by  the  garrison, 
which,  alarming  the  pack  horses,  caused  them  [193]  to 
break  loose  and  scatter  the  greater  part  of  the  flour  in 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


265 


every  direction  through  the  woods,  so  that  it  was  impos¬ 
sible  to  he  again  collected. 

The  remains  of  those,  who  had  unfortunately  fallen 
into  the  ambuscade  in  January,  and  which  had  lain  out 
until  then,  were  gathered  together  and  buried;1  and  a 
fresh  detachment,  under  Major  Vernon,  being  left  to  gar¬ 
rison  the  fort,  in  the  room  of  that  which  had  been  sta¬ 
tioned  there  during  winter,  Gen.  McIntosh,  withdrew  from 
the  country  and  returned  to  Fort  McIntosh.  In  the  ensu¬ 
ing  fall,  Fort  Laurens  was  entirely  evacuated  ;  the  garrison 
having  been  almost  reduced  to  starvation,  and  it  being 
found  very  difficult  to  supply  them  with  provisions  at  so 
great  a  distance  from  the  settlements  and  in  the  heart  of 
the  Indian  country. 

During  the  year  1778,  Kentucky  was  the  theatre  of 
many  outrages.  In  January,  a  party  of  thirty  men,  among 
whom  was  Daniel  Boone,  repaired  to  the  u  Lower  Blue 
Licks”  for  the  purpose  of  making  salt;  and  on  the  7th  of 
February,  while  Boone  was  alone  in  the  woods,  on  a  hunt 
to  supply  the  salt  makers  with  meat,  he  was  encountered 
by  a  party  of  one  hundred  and  two  Indians  and  two  Can¬ 
adians,  and  made  prisoner.  The  savages  advanced  to  the 
Licks,  and  made  prisoners  of  twenty-seven  of  those  en¬ 
gaged  in  making  salt.2  Their  object  in  this  incursion,  was 

[193]  1  The  bodies  of  these  men  were  found  to  have  been  much  de¬ 
voured  by  the  wolves,  and  bearing  the  appearance  of  having  been 
recently  torn  by  them.  With  a  view  of  taking  revenge  on  these  animals 
for  devouring  their  companions,  the  fatigue  party  sent  to  bury  their  re¬ 
mains,  after  digging  a  grave  sufficiently  capacious  to  contain  all,  and 
having  deposited  them  in  it,  they  covered  the  pit  with  slender  sticks, 
bark  and  rotten  wood,  too  weak  to  bear  the  weight  of  a  wolf,  and  placed 
a  piece  of  meat  on  the  top  and  near  the  center  of  this  covering,  as  a  bait. 
In  the  morning  seven  wolves  were  found  in  the  p>t,  and  killed  and  the 
grave  then  filled  up. 

2  Boone  had  left  Boonesborough  January  8,  in  charge  of  thirty  men, 
to  make  salt  at  the  Lower  Blue  Licks,  on  Licking  River.  They  carried 
with  them,  on  horses,  several  large  boiling  pans,  given  to  the  settlement 
by  the  government  of  Virginia.  So  weak  was  the  water  there,  that  840 
gallons  were  necessary  to  make  a  bushel  of  salt,  against  ninety  at  the 
Kanawha  salines,  and  forty  at  Onondaga.  While  the  salt-makers  were 
at  work,  two  or  three  others  of  the  party  served  as  scouts  and  hunters; 
generally,  Boone  was  one  of  these.  This  day  (Saturday,  February  7) 
Boone  started  out  alone  with  his  pack-horse  for  a  supply  of  game,  which 


266 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


the  destruction  of  Boonesborough  ;  and  had  they  con¬ 
tinued  their  march  thither,  there  is  no  doubt  hut  that 
place,  weakened  as  it  was  by  the  loss  of  so  many  of  its 
men  and  not  expecting  an  attack  at  that  inclement  season, 
would  have  fallen  into  their  hands;  but  elated  with  their 
success,  the  Indians  marched  directly  back  with  their 
prisoners  to  Chillicothe.  The  extreme  suffering  of  the 

usually  was  plenty  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  salt  licks ;  Thomas 
Brooks  and  Flanders  Callaway,  his  fellow  scouts,  were  taking  another 
circuit.  Having  killed  a  buffalo,  Boone  was  on  his  way  home  in  the 
afternoon,  with  the  choicest  of  the  meat  packed  upon  his  horse.  Snow 
was  falling  fast,  and  he  was  ten  miles  from  camp,  when  discovered  by 
four  Indians,  outlying  members  of  a  large  party  of  Shawnees  under 
Munseka  and  Black  Fish,  who  had  taken  the  war-path  to  avenge  the  mur¬ 
der  of  Cornstalk  (see  p.  172,  note.  2).  Benumbed  by  cold,  and  unable 
easily  to  untie  or  cut  the  frozen  thongs  which  bound  on  the  pack,  Boone 
could  not  unload  and  mount  the  horse,  and  after  a  sharp  skirmish 
was  captured,  and  led  to  the  main  Indian  encampment,  a  few  miles 
away.  Boone  induced  his  fellow  salt-makers  to  surrender  peaceably  the 
following  day  (February  8);  the  number  of  prisoners  was,  including 
Boone,  twenty-seven — two  scouts  and  two  salt-packers  being  absent. 
After  a  ten  days’  “uncomfortable  journey,  in  very  severe  weather,” 
says  Boone,  in  which  they  “  received  as  good  treatment  as  prisoners 
could  expect  from  savages,”  the  party  arrived  at  Little  Chillicothe,  on 
Little  Miami — so  called  in  contradistinction  to  Old  Chillicothe,  on  the 
Scioto.  Boone’s  strong,  compact  build  caused  the  Indians  to  call  him 
Big  Turtle,  and  under  that  name  he  was  adopted  as  the  son  of  Black 
Fish,  who  took  a  fancy  to  him ;  sixteen  of  his  companions  were  also 
adopted  by  other  warriors.  The  ten  who  were  not  adopted  were,  with 
Boone,  taken  on  a  trip  to  Detroit  (starting  March  10),  guarded  by  forty 
Indians  under  Black  Fish.  The  ten  were  sold  to  Lieut.  Governor  Ham¬ 
ilton  and  citizens  of  Detroit,  for  £20  each,  the  usual  price  for  American 
prisoners.  Boone  remained  in  Detroit  until  April  10,  during  which  he 
was  treated  with  great  courtesy  by  Hamilton,  who  offered  Black  Fish 
£100  for  him,  but  the  latter  declined  and  took  the  great  pioneer  home 
with  him ;  but  Boone  himself  was  given  by  Hamilton  a  horse  and  trap¬ 
pings,  with  silver  trinkets  to  give  to  the  Indians.  At  Little  Chillicothe, 
Boone  was  kindly  treated  by  Black  Fish,  and  little  by  little  hfs  liberty 
was  extended.  June  Iff,  while  the  family  were  making  salt  on  the 
Scioto,  preparatory  to  another  expedition  against  Boonesborough,  Boone 
escaped  on  the  horse  given  him  by  Hamilton.  After  many  curious 
adventures,  in  the  course  of  which  he  swam  the  Ohio,  he  safely  reached 
Boonesborough,  June  20,  having  traveled,  he  estimated,  a  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  in  four  days.  Boone’s  wife  and  family,  supposing  him  dead, 
had  returned  to  their  old  home  in  North  Carolina,  but  Boone  himself 
remained  to  assist  in  the  defense  of  Boonesborough  against  the  impend¬ 
ing  attack,  of  which  he  had  brought  intelligence. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


267 


prisoners,  during  this  march,  inspired  the  savages  with 
pity,  and  induced  them  to  exercise  an  unusual  lenity 
towards  their  captives.  In  March,  Boone  was  carried  to 
Detroit,  where  the  Indians  refused  to  liberate  him,  though 
an  hundred  pounds  were  offered  for  his  ransom,  and  from 
which  place  he  accompanied  them  back  to  Chillicothe  in 
the  latter  part  of  April.  In  the  first  of  June,  he  went  with 
them  to  the  Scioto  salt  springs,  and  on  his  return  found 
one  hundred  and  fifty  choice  warriors  of  the  Shawanee 
nation,  painting,  arming,  and  otherwise  equipping  them¬ 
selves  to  proceed  again  to  the  attack  of  Boonesborough. 

[194]  Hitherto  Boone  had  enjoyed  as  much  satisfac¬ 
tion,  as  was  consistent  with  his  situation,  and  more  than 
would  have  been  experienced  by  the  most  of  men,  in 
captivity  to  the  Indians ;  but  when  he  found  such  great 
preparations  making  for  an  attack  on  the  place  which 
contained  all  that  he  held  most  dear,  his  love  of  family, 
his  attachment  to  the  village  reared  under  his  superin¬ 
tending  hand,  and  to  its  inhabitants  protected  by  his  fos¬ 
tering  care,  determined  him  to  attempt  an  immediate 
escape.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  of  June,  he 
went  forth  as  usual  to  hunt.  He  had  secreted  as  much 
food  as  would  serve  him  for  one  meal,  and  with  this 
scanty  supply,  he  resolved  on  finding  his  way  home.  On 
the  20th,  having  travelled  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  miles,  crossed  the  Ohio  and  other  rivers,  and  with 
no  sustenance,  save  what  he  had  taken  with  him  from 
Chillicothe,  he  arrived  at  Boonesborough.  The  fort  was 
quickly  repaired,  and  every  preparation  made  to  enable  it 
to  withstand  a  siege. 

In  a  few  days  after,  another,  of  those  who  had  been 
taken  prisoners  at  the  Blue  Licks,  escaped,  and  brought 
intelligence  that  in  consequence  of  the  flight  of  Boone, 
the  Indians  had  agreed  to  postpone  their  meditated  irrup¬ 
tion,  for  three  weeks.1  This  intelligence  determined  Boone 

1  This  was  William  Hancock,  who  had,  like  Boone,  been  adopted 
into  an  Indian  family.  Not  so  expert  a  woodsman  as  Boone,  he  had 
consumed  twelve  days  in  the  journey  from  Chillicothe  to  Boonesbor¬ 
ough,  and  suffered  great  hardships.  He  arrived  at  the  fort  July  17.  In 
consequence  ot  Boone’s  escape,  he  reported,  the  Indians  had  postponed 


268 


Withers's  Chronicles 


to  invade  the  Indian  country,  and  at  the  head  of  only  ten 
men  he  went  forth  on  an  expedition  against  Paint  creek 
town.  Hear  to  this  place,  he  met  with  a  party  of  Indians 
going  to  join  the  main  army,  then  on  its  march  to  Boones- 
borough,  whom  he  attacked  and  dispersed  without  sus¬ 
taining  any  loss  on  his  part.  The  enemy  had  one  killed 
and  two  severely  wounded  in  this  skirmish;  and  lost  their 
horses  and  baggage.  On  their  return,  they  passed  the  In¬ 
dian  army  on  the  6th  of  August,  and  on  the  next  day 
entered  Boonesborough.* 1 

On  the  8th  of  August,  the  Indian  army,  consisting  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  commanded  by  Capt.  Du 
Quesne,  eleven  other  Frenchmen,  and  their  own  chiefs, 
appeared  before  the  Fort  and  demanded  its  surrender.2 
In  order  to  gain  time,  Boone  requested  two  days’  consid¬ 
eration,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period,  returned  for 
answer,  that  the  garrison  had  resolved  on  defending  it, 
while  one  individual  remained  alive  within  its  walls. 

Capt.  Du  Quesne  then  made  known,  that  he  was 
charged  by  Gov.  Hamilton,  to  make  prisoners  of  the  gar- 

their  intended  attack  for  three  weeks.  The  next  day  (July  18),  Boone 
wrote  to  Arthur  Campbell,  lieutenant  of  Washington  County,  Va.  (the 
Holston  settlements,  200  miles  away),  that  he  expected  the  enemy  in 
twelve  days,  and  that  the  fort  was  prepared  for  a  siege  of  three  or  four 
weeks;  but  relief  would  then  be  of  infinite  service. — R.  G.  T. 

1  At  the  close  of  six  weeks  after  Hancock’s  arrival,  Boone  had  be¬ 
come  weary  of  waiting  for  the  enemy,  hence  his  expedition  with  nine¬ 
teen  men — not  ten,  as  in  the  text — against  the  Shawnee  town  on  Paint 
Creek,  during  the  last  week  of  August.  It  was  the  5th  of  September 
when,  undiscovered,  he  passed  the  Indian  force  encamped  at  Lower 
Blue  Licks,  and  the  next  day  arrived  at  Boonesborough. — R.  G.  T. 

2  About  10  a.  m.  of  Monday,  September  7, — Withers  places  it  a 
month,  less  a  day,  too  early,— the  hostiles  crossed  the  Kentucky  a  mile 
and  a  half  above  Boonesborough,  at  a  point  since  known  as  Black  Fish’s 
Ford,  and  soon  made  their  appearance  marching  single  file,  some  of  them 
mounted,  along  the  ridge  south  of  the  fort.  They  numbered  about  400, 
and  displayed  English  and  French  flags.  The  strength  of  the  force  has 
been  variously  estimated,  from  330  Indians  and  8  Frenchmen  (Col.  John 
Bowman),  to  444  Indians  and  12  Frenchmen  (Boone’s  Narrative,  by 
Filson).  The  English  Indian  department  was  represented  by  Capt. 
Isidore  Chene,  who  had  with  him  several  other  French-Canadians; 
there  was  also  a  negro  named  Pompey,  who  had  long  lived  with  the  In¬ 
dians,  and  served  them  as  interpreter;  the  principal  chiefs  were,  Black 
Fish,  Moluntha,  Black  Hoof,  and  Black  Beard. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


269 


rison,  but  not  to  treat  them  harshly;  and  that  if  nine  of 
their  principal  men  would  come  out,  and  negotiate  a 
treaty,  based  on  a  renunciation  of  allegiance  to  the  United 
States,  and  on  a  renewal  of  their  fealty  to  the  king,  the 
Indian  army  should  be  instantly  withdrawn.  Boone  did 
not  confide  in  the  sincerity  of  the  Frenchman,  but  he  de¬ 
termined  to  gain  the  advantage  of  farther  preparation  for 
resistance,  by  delaying  the  attack.  He  consented  to  nego¬ 
tiate  on  the  terms  proposed  ;  but  suspecting  treachery,  in¬ 
sisted  that  the  conference  should  be  held  near  the  fort 
walls.  The  garrison  were  on  the  alert,  while  the  negoti¬ 
ation  continued,  and  did  not  fail  to  remark  that  many  of 
the  Indians,  not  [195]  concerned  in  making  the  treaty, 
were  stalking  about,  under  very  suspicious  circumstances. 
The  terms  on  which  the  savage  army  was  to  retire  were  at 
length  agreed  upon,  and  the  articles  signed,  when  the 
whites  were  told  that  it  was  an  Indian  custom,  in  ratifi¬ 
cation  of  compacts,  that  two  of  their  chiefs  should  shake 
hands  with  one  white  man.  Boone  and  his  associates 
consenting  to  conform  to  this  custom,  not  without  suspi¬ 
cion  of  a  sinister  design,  were  endeavored  to  be  dragged 
off  as  prisoners  by  the  savages;  but  strong  and  active, 
they  bounded  from  their  grasp,  and  entered  the  gate,  amid 
a  heavy  shower  of  balls — one  only  of  the  nine,  was  slightly 
wounded.  The  Indians  then  commenced  a  furious  assault 
on  the  fort,  but  were  repulsed  with  some  loss  on  their 
part;  and  every  renewed  attempt  to  carry  it  by  storm, 
was  in  like  manner,  frustrated  by  the  intrepidity  and  gal¬ 
lantry  of  its  inmates.1 

Disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  succeeding  in 
this  way,  the  savages  next  attempted  to  undermine  the 
fort,  commencing  at  the  water  mark  of  the  Kentucky 
river,  only  sixty  yards  from  the  walls.  This  course  was 
no  doubt  dictated  to  them  by  their  French  commanders, 
as  they  are  ignorant  of  the  practice  of  war,  farther  than 

1  The  garrison  numbered,  old  and  young,  white  and  black,  sixty 
persons  capable  of  bearing  arms ;  only  forty,  however,  were  really  ef¬ 
fective.  Women  and  children,  dressed  and  armed  as  men,  frequently  ap¬ 
peared  upon  the  walls,  to  give  an  appearance  of  greater  strength. — 
K.  G.  T. 


270 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


depends  on  the  use  of  the  gun,  and  tomahawk,  and  the 
exercise  of  stratagem  and  cunning.  The  vigilance  of  the 
besieged  however,  soon  led  to  a  discovery  of  the  attempt — 
the  water  below,  was  colored  by  the  clay  thrown  out 
from  the  excavation,  while  above  it  retained  its  usual 
transparency ;  and  here  again  they  wTere  foiled  by  the  act¬ 
ive  exertion  of  the  garrison.  A  countermine  was  begun 
by  them,  the  earth  from  which  being  thrown  over  the 
wall,  manifested  the  nature  of  their  operations,  and  led 
the  enemy  to  raise  the  siege,  and  retire  from  the  country.1 

In  the  various  assaults  made  on  the  fort  by  this  sav¬ 
age  army,  two  only,  of  the  garrison,  were  killed,  and  four 
wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy,  as  usual,  could  not  be 
properly  ascertained :  thirty-seven  were  left  dead  on  the 
field,  and  many,  were  no  doubt  wounded.2 

So  signally  was  the  savage  army  repulsed,  in  their  re¬ 
peated  attacks  on  Boonesborough,  that  they  never  after¬ 
wards  made  any  great  effort  to  effect  its  reduction.  The 
heroism  and  intrepidity  of  Boone  and  his  assistants  ren¬ 
dered  it  impregnable  to  their  combined  exertions  to  de¬ 
molish  it;  while  the  vigilance  and  caution  of  the  inhabit¬ 
ants,  convinced  them,  that  it  would  be  fruitless  and  una¬ 
vailing  to  devise  plans  for  gaining  admission  into  the  fort, 
by  stratagem  or  wile.  Still  however,  they  kept  up  a  war  of 
ravage  and  murder,  against  such  as  were  unfortunately 
found  defenceless  and  unprotected  ;  and  levelled  combined 
operations  against  other  and  weaker  positions. 

[196]  The  success  of  the  expedition  under  Col.  Clarke, 
though  productive  of  many  and  great  advantages  to  the 

^his  ruse  of  the  Indians  was  discovered  on  Friday,  the  11th.  The 
garrison  commenced  its  countermine  immediately,  and  prosecuted  the 
work  for  several  days.  The  rival  parties  could  hear  each  other  at  work 
underground.  When  the  Indians  had  proceeded  about  forty  yards, 
two-thirds  of  the  distance  from  the  river  bank,  successive  rainstorms 
had  so  saturated  the  earth  that  sections  of  their  tunnel  caved  in,  and 
this  it  was  that  frustrated  their  scheme. — R.  G.  T. 

[195]  2  When  the  Indians  retired  from  before  Boonesboro,  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  twenty-five  pounds  weight  of  bullets  were  picked  up  by  the 
garrison,  besides  many  that  stuck  in  the  logs  of  the  fort.  A  conclu¬ 
sive  proof  that  the  Indians  were  not  idle,  during  the  continuance  of 
the  siege. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


271 


frontier  inhabitants,  did  not  achieve  for  them,  an  unmo¬ 
lested  security.  Their  property  was  still  liable  to  plunder, 
and  families  newly  arrived  among  them,  to  be  murdered 
or  taken  prisoners.  Combined  efforts  were  required,  to 
put  a  period  to  savage  aggression ;  and  a  meeting  of  the 
settlers  was  held  at  Harrodsburg,  to  concert  measures  to 
effect  that  object.  Their  consultation  resulted  in  a  deter¬ 
mination,  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy’s  country;  and 
as  the  Shawanees  had  been  most  efficient  in  waging  hos¬ 
tilities,  it  was  resolved  to  commence  operations,  against 
their  most  considerable  town.  Two  hundred  volunteers 
were  accordingly  raised,  and  when  rendezvoused  at  Har¬ 
rodsburg,  were  placed  under  the  command  of  Col.  Bow¬ 
man,  and  proceeded  against  Chillicothe.1 

The  expedition  thus  fitted  out,  arrived,  by  forced 
marches,  near  to  Chillicothe  in  the  evening  towards  the 
latter  end  of  July,  1779  ;  and  on  deliberation,  it  was  agreed 
to  defer  the  attack  ’till  next  morning.  Before  dawn  the 
army  was  drawn  up  and  arranged  in  order  of  battle.  The 
right  wing  led  on  by  Col.  Bowman,  was  to  assume  a  posi- 

1  John  Bowman,  of  Harrodsburgh,  was  lieutenant  of  Kentucky 
County,  and  colonel  of  its  militia.  During  the  spring  of  1779,  there 
was  a  general  desire  to  raid  the  unsuspecting  Shawnees,  in  retaliation 
for  their  invasions  of  Kentucky,  and  Bowman  decided  to  command  in 
person  this  “  first  regular  enterprise  to  attack,  in  force,  the  Indians  be¬ 
yond  the  Ohio,  ever  planned  in  Kentucky.”  The  company  of  volun¬ 
teers  of  the  interior  rendezvoused  in  May  at  Harrodsburgh,  and  under 
Capts.  Benjamin  Logan  and  Silas  Harlan  marched  to  Lexington,  where 
they  met  the  Boonesborough  company  under  Capt.  John  Holder,  and 
another  party  under  Capt.  Levi  Todd.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Licking 
(site  of  Covington,  Ky.),  the  general  rendezvous  agreed  on,  they  found 
a  company  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  (site  of  Louisville),  under  Capt. 
William  Harrod.  Also  in  the  little  army,  which  finally  mustered  297 
men,  including  officers,  were  frontiersmen  from  Redstone  Old  Fort,  and 
other  settlements  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Monongahela.  The 
Redstone  men  were  on  their  way  home,  when  they  heard  of  the  expe¬ 
dition,  and  joined  it  at  the  Licking;  they  had  been  on  a  visit  to  Big 
Bone  Lick,  and  had  a  canoe-load  of  relics  therefrom,  which  they  were 
transporting  up  river.  The  force  crossed  the  Ohio,  May  28,  j ust  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Licking ;  32  men  remained  behind  in  charge  of  the  boats, 
leaving  265  to  set  out  for  the  Shawnee  town  of  Little  Chillicothe,  on  the 
Little  Miami,  distant  about  sixtv-five  miles  northeast.  George  Clark 
and  William  Whitley  were  pilots,  and  George  M.  Bedinger  adjutant  and 
quartermaster. — R.  G.  T. 


Withers's  Chro n ides 


079 

iJ  I  iJ 

tion  on  one  side  of  the  town,  and  the  left,  under  Capt. 
Logan,  was  to  occupy  the  ground  on  the  opposite  side; 
and  at  a  given  signal,  both  were  to  develope  to  the  right 
and  left,  so  as  to  encircle  and  attack  it  in  concert.1  The 
party,  led  on  by  Logan,  repaired  to  the  point  assigned,  and 
was  waiting  in  anxious,  but  vain  expectation  for  the  sig¬ 
nal  of  attack  to  be  given,  when  the  attention  of  the  Indians 
was  directed  towards  him  by  the  barking  of  their  dogs. 
At  this  instant  a  gun  was  discharged  by  one  of  Bowman’s 
men,  and  the  whole  village  alarmed.  The  squaws  and 
children  were  hurried  into  the  woods,  along  a  path  not 
yet  occupied  by  the  assailants,  and  the  warriors  collected 
in  a  strong  cabin.2  Logan,  being  near  enough  to  perceive 
every  movement  of  the  enemy,  ordered  his  men  quietly  to 
occupy  the  deserted  huts,  as  a  momentary  shelter  from  the 
Indian  fires,  until  Col.  Bowman  should  march  forward. 
It  was  now  light;  and  the  savages  began  a  regular  dis¬ 
charge  of  shot  at  his  men,  as  they  advanced  to  the  deserted 
cabins.  This  determined  him  to  move  directly  to  the  at¬ 
tack  of  the  cabin,  in  which  the  warriors  were  assembled ; 
and  ordering  his  men  to  tear  off  the  doors  and  hold  them 
in  front,  as  a  shield,  while  advancing  to  the  assault,  he  was 
already  marching  on  the  foe,  when  he  was  overtaken  by  an 
order  from  Col.  Bowman,  to  retreat. 

Confounded  by  this  command,  Capt.  Logan  was  for  a 
time  reluctant  to  obey  it;  a  retreat  was  however,  directed; 
and  each  individual,  sensible  of  his  great  exposure  while 
retiring  from  the  towns,  sought  to  escape  from  danger,  in 
the  manner  directed  by  his  own  judgment ;  and  fled  to  the 
woods  at  his  utmost  speed.  There  they  rallied,  and  resumed 

1  Without  having  seen  an  Indian,  the  expedition  arrived  in  sight  of 
Little  Chillicothe,  at  dusk  of  May  29 — Withers  places  the  date  two 
months  ahead  of  the  actual  time.  Capt.  Logan  had  charge  of  the  left 
wing,  Harrod  of  the  right,  and  Holder  of  the  center.  The  white  force 
now  numbered  263— two  men  having  returned  to  the  boats,  disabled ; 
the  Indians  numbered  about  100  warriors  and  200  squaws  and  children. 
Black  Fish  was  the  principal  village  chief,  and  subordinate  to  him  were 
Black  Hoof  and  Black  Beard. — R.  G.  T. 

2  This  was  the  council  house,  which  was  so  stoutly  defended  that 
the  white  assailants  were  glad  to  take  refuge  in  a  neighboring  hut,  from 
which  they  escaped  with  difficulty. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


273 


more  of  order,  though  still  too  much  terrified  to  stand  a 
contest,  when  the  Indians  sallied  out  to  give  battle.  In¬ 
timidated  by  the  apprehension  of  danger,  which  they  had 
not  seen,  [197]  but  supposed  to  he  great  from  the  retreat¬ 
ing  order  of  Col.  Bowman,  they  continued  to  fly  before 
the  savages,  led  on  by  their  chief,  the  Black  Fish.  At 
length  they  were  brought  to  a  halt,  and  opened  a  brisk, 
though  inefficient  fire,  upon  their  pursuers.  Protected  by 
hushes,  the  Indians  maintained  their  ground,  ’till  Capts. 
Logan  and  llarrod,  with  some  of  the  men  under  their 
immediate  command,  mounted  on  pack  horses,  charged 
them  with  great  spirit,  and  dislodged  them  from  their 
covert.  Exposed  in  turn  to  the  fire  of  the  whites,  and  see¬ 
ing  their  chief  fall,  the  savages  took  to  flight,  and  Col. 
Bowman  continued  his  retreat  homeward,  free  from  farther 
interruption.1 * * * * * 

In  this  illy  conducted  expedition,  Col.  Bowman  had 
nine  of  his  men  killed  and  one  wounded.  The  Indian  loss 
v7as  no  doubt  less:  only  two  or  three  were  known  to  be 
killed.  Had  the  commanding  officer,  instead  of  ordering 
a  retreat  when  Logan’s  men  were  rushing  bravely  to  the 
conflict,  marched  with  the  right  wing  of  the  army  to  their 
aid,  far  different  would  have  been  the  result.  The  enemy, 
only  thirty  strong,  could  not  long  have  held  out,  against 

1  The  chief  cause  of  alarm,  and  the  consequent  disorder,  was  a  false 
report  started  among  the  whites,  that  Simon  Girty  and  a  hundred  Shaw- 
nees  from  the  Indian  village  of  Piqua,  twelve  miles  distant,  were  march¬ 
ing  to  the  relief  of  Black  Fish.  Order  was  soon  restored,  and  when, 
fourteen  miles  out  upon  the  homeward  trail,  Indians  were  discovered 
upon  their  rear,  the  enemy  were  met  with  vigor,  and  thereafter  the  re¬ 
treat  was  unhampered.  The  force  reached  the  Ohio,  just  above  the 

mouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  early  on  June  1.  The  “  pack-horses  ”  alluded 
to  by  Withers,  were  168  Indian  ponies  captured  in  the  Chillicothe 
woods ;  the  other  plunder  was  considerable,  being  chiefly  silver  orna¬ 
ments  and  clothing.  After  crossing  the  Ohio  in  boats — the  horses  swim¬ 
ming — there  wras  an  auction  of  the  booty,  which  was  appraised  at 

£32,000,  continental  money,  each  man  getting  goods  or  horses  to  the  value 
of  about  £110.  The  Indian  loss  was  five  killed  at  the  town,  and  many 

wounded ;  the  whites  had  seven  men  killed.  Little  Chillicothe  had 

been  for  the  most  part  destroyed  by  fire,  and  its  crops  destroyed.  The 

newspapers  of  the  day  regarded  the  expedition  as  an  undoubted  suc¬ 
cess. — R.  G.  T. 

18 


274 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


the  bravery  and  impetuosity  of  two  hundred  backwoods¬ 
men,  stimulated  to  exertion  by  repeated  suffering,  and 
nerved  by  the  reflection,  that  they  were  requiting  it  upon 
its  principal  authors.  Col.  Bowman  doubtless  believed 
that  be  was  pursuing  a  proper  course.  The  gallantry  and 
intrepidity,  displayed  by  him  on  many  occasions,  forbid 
the  supposition  that  be  was  under  the  influence  of  any  un¬ 
military  feeling,  and  prompted  to  that  course  by  a  disposi¬ 
tion  to  shrink  from  ordinary  dangers.  His  motives  were 
certainly  pure,  and  bis  subsequent  exertions  to  rally  bis 
men  and  bring  them  to  face  the  foe,  were  as  great  as  could 
have  been  made  by  any  one;  but  disheartened  by  the  fear 
of  unreal  danger,  and  in  the  trepidation  of  a  flight,  deemed 
to  be  absolutely  necessary  for  their  safety,  they  could  not 
be  readily  brought  to  bear  the  brunt  of  battle.  The  efforts 
of  a  few  cool  and  collected  individuals,  drove  back  the 
pursuers,  and  thus  prevented  an  harrassed  retreat. 

Notwithstanding  the  frequent  irruptions  of  the  In¬ 
dians,  and  the  constant  exposure  of  the  settlers  to  suffer¬ 
ing  and  danger,  Kentucky  increased  rapidly  in  population. 
From  the  influx  of  emigrants  during  the  fall  and  winter 
months,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  were  annually 
doubled  for  some  years;  and  new  establishments  were 
made  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  In  April  1779,  a 
block  house  was  erected  on  the  present  site  of  Lexington,1 
and  several  stations  were  selected  in  its  vicinity,  and  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  present  town  of  Danville.  Settle¬ 
ments  were  also  made,  in  that  year,  on  the  waters  of  Bear 
Grass,  Green  and  Licking  rivers,  and  parts  of  the  country 
began  to  be  distinguished  by  their  interior  and  frontier 
situation. 


1  George  W.  Ranck :  “April  1.  Robert  Patterson,  at  the  head  of 
twenty-five  men,  commenced  a  block  house  where  Lexington  now 
stands.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


275 


[198]  CHAPTER  XII. 

In  North  Western  Virginia,  the  frequent  inroads  of 
small  parties  of  savages  in  1778,  led  to  greater  prepara¬ 
tions  for  security,  from  renewed  hostilities  after  the  winter 
should  have  passed  away ;  and  many  settlements  received 
a  considerable  accession  to  their  strength,  from  the  num¬ 
ber  of  persons  emigrating  to  them.  In  some  neighbor¬ 
hoods,  the  sufferings  of  the  preceding  season  and  the 
inability  of  the  inhabitants,  from  the  paucity  of  their 
numbers,  to  protect  themselves  from  invasion,  led  to  a 
total  abandonment  of  their  homes.  The  settlement  on 
Hacker’s  creek  was  entirely  broken  up  in  the  spring  of 
1779, — some  of  its  inhabitants  forsaking  the  country  and 
retiring  east  of  the  mountains;  while  the  others  went  to 
the  fort  on  Buchannon,  and  to  Nutters  fort,  near  Clarks¬ 
burg,  to  aid  in  resisting  the  foe  and  in  maintaining  pos¬ 
session  of  the  country.  When  the  campaign  of  that  year 
opened,  the  whole  frontier  was  better  prepared  to  protect 
itself  from  invasion  and  to  shield  its  occupants  from  the 
wrath  of  the  savage  enemy,  than  it  had  ever  been,  since  it 
became  the  abode  of  white  men.  There  were  forts  in 
every  settlement,  into  which  the  people  could  retire  when 
danger  threatened,  and  which  were  capable  of  withstand¬ 
ing  the  assaults  of  savages,  however  furious  they  might 
be,  if  having  to  depend  for  success,  on  the  use  of  small 
arms  only.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  country,  that  this  was 
their  dependence.  A  few  well  directed  shots  even  from 
small  cannon,  would  have  demolished  [199]  their  strong¬ 
est  fortress,  and  left  them  no  hope  from  death,  but  cap¬ 
tivity. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Pricket’s  fort,  the  inhabitants 
were  early  alarmed,  by  circumstances  which  induced  a  be¬ 
lief  that  the  Indians  were  near,  and  they  accordingly  en¬ 
tered  that  garrison.  It  was  soon  evident  that  their  fears 
were  groundless,  but  as  the  season  was  fast  approaching, 
when  the  savages  might  be  expected  to  commence  depre- 


27G 


Withers's  Chronicles 


dations,  they  determined  on  remaining  in  the  fort,  of  a 
night,  and  yet  prosecute  the  business  of  their  farms  as 
usual  during  the  day.  Among  those  who  were  at  this 
time  in  the  fort,  was  David  Morgan,  (a  relation  of  General 
Daniel  Morgan,)  then  upwards  of  sixty  years  of  age. 
Early  in  April,  being  himself  unwell,  he  sent  his  two- 
children — Stephen,  a  youth  of  sixteen,  and  Sarah,  a  girl 
of  fourteen — to  feed  the  cattle  at  his  farm,  about  a  mile 
off.  The  children,  thinking  to  remain  all  day  and  spend 
the  time  in  preparing  ground  for  water  melons,  unknown 
to  their  father  took  with  them  some  bread  and  meat. 
Having  fed  the  stock,  Stephen  set  himself  to  work,  and 
while  he  was  engaged  in  grubbing,  his  sister  would  re¬ 
move  the  brush,  and  otherwise  aid  him  in  the  labor  of 
clearing  the  ground;  occasionally  going  to  the  house  to 
wet  some  linen  which  she  had  spread  out  to  bleach.  Mor¬ 
gan,  after  the  children  had  been  gone  some  time,  betook 
himself  to  bed,  and  soon  falling  asleep,  dreamed  that  he 
saw  Stephen  and  Sarah  walking  about  the  fort  yard, 
scalped.  Aroused  from  slumber  by  the  harrowing  specta¬ 
cle  presented  to  his  sleeping  view,  he  enquired  if  the 
children  had  returned,  and  upon  learning  they  had  not,  he 
set  out  to  see  what  detained  them,  taking  with  him  his 
gun.  As  he  approached  the  house,  still  impressed  with 
the  horrible  fear  that  he  should  find  his  dream  realized,  he 
ascended  an  eminence,  from  which  he  could  distinctly  see 
over  his  plantation,  and  descrying  from  thence  the  objects 
of  his  anxious  solicitude,  he  proceeded  directly  to  them, 
and  seated  himself  on  an  old  log,  near  at  hand.  He  had 
been  here  but  a  few  minutes,  before  he  saw  two  Indians 
come  out  from  the  house  and  make  toward  the  children. 
Fearing  to  alarm  them  too  much,  and  thus  deprive 
them  of  the  power  of  exerting  themselves  ably  to  make 
an  escape,  he  apprized  them  in  a  careless  manner,  of 
their  danger,  and  told  them  to  run  towards  the  fort — him¬ 
self  still  maintaining  his  seat  on  the  log.  The  Indians 
then  raised  a  hideous  yell  and  ran  in  pursuit ;  but  the  old 
[200]  gentleman  shewing  himself  at  that  instant,  caused 
them  to  forbear  the  chase,  and  shelter  themselves  behind 
trees.  He  then  endeavored  to  effect  an  escape,  by  flight, 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


277 


and  the  Indians  followed  after  him.  Age  and  consequent 
intirmity,  rendered  him  unable  long  to  continue  out  of 
their  reach  ;  and  aware  that  they  were  gaining  considera¬ 
bly  on  him,  he  wheeled  to  shoot.  Both  instantly  sprang 
behind  trees,  and  Morgan  seeking  shelter  in  the  same 
manner,  got  behind  a  sugar,  which  was  so  small  as  to 
leave  part  of  his  body  exposed.  Looking  round,  he  saw  a 
large  oak  about  twenty  yards  farther,  and  he  made  to  it. 
Just  as  he  reached  it,  the  foremost  Indian  sought  security 
behind  the  sugar  sapling,  which  he  had  found  insufficient 
for  his  protection.  The  Indian,  sensible  that  it  would  not 
shelter  him,  threw  himself  down  by  the  side  of  a  log 
which  lay  at  the  root  of  the  sapling.  But  this  did  not  af¬ 
ford  him  sufficient  cover,  and  Morgan,  seeing  him  exposed 
to  a  shot,  fired  at  him.  The  ball  took  effect,  and  the  sav¬ 
age,  rolling  over  on  his  back,  stabbed  himself  twice  in  the 
breast. 

Having  thus  succeeded  in  killing  one  of  his  pursuers, 
Morgan  again  took  to  flight,  and  the  remaining  Indian 
after  him.  It  was  now  that  trees  could  afford  him  no 
security — Ilis  gun  was  unloaded,  and  his  pursuer  could 
approach  him  safely. — The  unequal  race  was  continued 
about  sixty  yards,  when  looking  over  his  shoulder,  he  saw 
the  savage  within  a  few  paces  of  him,  and  with  his  gun 
raised.  Morgan  sprang  to  one  side,  and  the  ball  whizzed 
harmlessly  by  him.  The  odds  was  now  not  great,  and 
both  advanced  to  closer  combat,  sensible  of  the  prize  for 
which  they  had  to  contend,  and  each  determined,  to  deal 
death  to  his  adversary.  Morgan  aimed  a  blow,  with  his 
gun ;  but  the  Indian  hurled  a  tomahawk  at  him,  wffiich 
cutting  the  little  finger  of  his  left  hand  entirely  off,  and 
injuring  the  one  next  it  very  much,  knocked  the  gun  out 
of  his  grasp,  and  they  closed.  Being  a  good  wrestler, 
Morgan  succeeded  in  throwing  the  Indian;  but  soon  found 
himself  overturned,  and  the  savage  upon  him,  feeling  for 
his  knife  and  sending  forth  a  most  horrifick  yell,  as  is  their 
custom  when  they  consider  victory  as  secure.  A  woman’s 
apron,  which  he  had  taken  from  the  house  and  fastened 
round  him  above  his  knife,  so  hindered  him  in  getting  at 
it  quickly,  that  Morgan,  getting  one  of  his  fingers  in  his 


278 


Withers's  Chronicles 


month,  deprived  him  of  the  use  of  that  hand,  and  discon¬ 
certed  him  very  much  by  continuing  to  grind  it  between 
his  teeth.  At  length  the  [201]  Indian  got  hold  of  his 
knife,  but  so  far  towards  the  blade,  that  Morgan  too  got  a 
small  hold  on  the  extremity  of  the  handle;  and  as  the  In¬ 
dian  drew  it  from  the  scabbard,  Morgan,  biting  his  finger 
with  all  his  might,  and  thus  causing  him  somewhat  to  re¬ 
lax  his  grasp,  drew  it  through  his  hand,  gashing  it  most 
severely. 

By  this  time  both  had  gained  their  feet,  and  the  In¬ 
dian,  sensible  of  the  great  advantage  gained  over  him, 
endeavored  to  disengage  himself;  but  Morgan  held  fast  to 
the  finger,  until  he  succeeded  in  giving  him  a  fatal  stab, 
and  felt  the  almost  lifeless  body  sinking  in  his  arms.  He 
then  loosened  his  hold  and  departed  for  the  fort. 

On  his  way  he  met  with  his  daughter,  who  not  being 
able  to  keep  pace  with  her  brother,  had  followed  his  foot¬ 
steps  to  the  river  bank  where  he  had  plunged  in,  and  was 
then  making  her  way  to  the  canoe.  Assured  thus  far  of 
the  safety  of  his  children,  he  accompanied  his  daughter  to 
the  fort,  and  then,  in  company  with  a  party  of  the  men, 
returned  to  his  farm,  to  see  if  there  were  any  appearance 
of  other  Indians  being  about  there.  On  arriving  at  the 
spot  where  the  desperate  struggle  had  been,  the  wounded 
Indian  was  not  to  be  seen ;  but  trailing  him  by  the  blood 
.  which  flowed  profusely  from  his  side,  they  found  him  con¬ 
cealed  in  the  branches  of  a  fallen  tree. — He  had  taken  the 
knife  from  his  body,  bound  up  the  wound  with  the  apron, 
and  on  their  approaching  him,  accosted  them  familiarly, 
with  the  salutation  “  How  do  do  broder,  how  do  broder.” 
Alas!  poor  fellow!  their  brotherhood  extended  no  farther 
than  to  the  gratification  of  a  vengeful  feeling.  He  was 
tomahawked  and  scalped;  and,  as  if  this  would  not  fill 
the  measure  of  their  vindictive  passions,  both  he  and  his 
companion  were  flayed,  their  skins  tanned  and  converted 
into  saddle  seats,  shot  pouches  and  belts — A  striking  in¬ 
stance  of  the  barbarities,  which  a  revengeful  spirit  will 
lead  its  possessors  to  perpetrate.1 

1  L.  V.  McWhorter,  of  Berlin,  W.  Va.,  writes  me:  “A  few  years 
ago,  the  descendants  of  David  Morgan  erected  a  monument  on  the  spot 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


279 


The  alarm  which  had  caused  the  people  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  Pricket’s  fort,  to  move  into  it  for  safety,  in¬ 
duced  two  or  three  families  on  Dunkard  creek  to  collect  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Bozarth,  thinking  they  would  be  more 
exempt  from  danger  when  together,  than  if  remaining  at 
their  several  homes.  About  the  first  of  April,  when  only 
Mr.  Bozarth  and  two  men  were  in  the  house,  the  children, 
who  had  been  out  at  play,  came  running  into  the  yard,  ex¬ 
claiming  that  there  were  [202]  “  ugly  red  men  coming  ” 
Upon  hearing  this,  one  of  the  two  men  in  the  house,  going 
to  the  door  to  see  if  Indians  really  were  approaching,  re¬ 
ceived  a  glancing  shot  on  his  breast,  which  caused  him  to 
fall  back.  The  Indian  who  had  shot  him,  sprang  in  imme¬ 
diately  after,  and  grappling  with  the  other  white  man,  was 
quickly  thrown  on  the  bed.  His  antagonist  having  no 
weapon  with  which  to  do  him  any  injury  called  to  Mrs. 
Bozarth  for  a  knife.  Hot  finding  one  at  hand,  she  siezed 
an  axe,  and  at  one  blow,  let  out  the  brains  of  the  prostrate 
savage.  At  that  instant  a  second  Indian  entering  the 
door,  shot  dead  the  man  engaged  with  his  companion  on 
the  bed.  Mrs.  Bozarth  turned  on  him,  and  with  a  well 
directed  blow,  let  out  his  entrails  and  caused  him  to  bawl 
out  for  help.  Upon  this,  others  of  his  party,  who  had 
been  engaged  with  the  children  in  the  yard,  came  to  his 
relief.  The  first  who  thrust  his  head  in  at  the  door,  had 
it  cleft  by  the  axe  of  Mrs.  Bozarth  and  fell  lifeless  on  the 
ground.  Another,  catching  hold  of  his  wounded,  bawling 
companion,  drew  him  out  of  the  house,  when  Mrs.  Bozarth, 
with  the  aid  of  the  white  man  who  had  been  first  shot  and 
was  then  somewhat  recovered,  succeeded  in  closing  and 
making  fast  the  door.  The  children  in  the  yard  were  all 
killed,  but  the  heroism  and  exertions  of  Mrs.  Bozarth  and 
the  wounded  white  man,  enabled  them  to  resist  the  re- 

where  fell  one  of  the  Indians.  On  the  day  of  the  unveiling  of  the 
monument,  there  was  on  exhibition  at  the  spot,  a  shot-pouch  and  sad¬ 
dle  skirt  made  from  the  skins  of  the  Indians.  Greenwood  S.  Morgan,  a 
great-grandson  of  the  Indian  slayer,  informs  me  that  the  shot-pouch  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  a  distant  relative,  living  in  Wetzel  County,  W. 
Ya.  The  knife  with  which  the  Indian  was  killed,  is  owned  by  Morgan’s 
descendants  in  Marion  County,  W.  Ya.” — R.  G.  T. 


280 


Withers's  Chronicles 


peated  attempts  of  the  Indians,  to  force  open  the  door, 
and  to  maintain  possession  of  the  house,  until  they  were 
relieved  by  a  party  from  the  neighboring  settlement. — 
The  time  occupied  in  this  bloody  affair,  from  the  first 
alarm  by  the  children  to  the  shutting  of  the  door,  did  not 
exceed  three  minutes.  And  in  this  brief  space,  Mrs.  Bo- 
zarth,with  infinite  self  possession,  coolness  and  intrepidity, 
succeeded  in  killing  three  Indians.  /y?qj 

On  the  eleventh  of  the  same  month,  five  Indians  came 
to  a  house  on  Snowy  creek,  (in  the,  now,  county  of  Pres¬ 
ton,)  in  which  lived  James  Brain  and  Richard  Powell,  and 
remained  in  ambush  during  the  night,  close  around  it.  In 
the  morning  early,  the  appearance  of  some  ten  or  twelve 
men,  issuing  from  the  house  with  guns,  for  the  purpose  of 
amusing  themselves  in  shooting  at  a  mark,  deterred  the  In¬ 
dians  from  making  their  meditated  attack.  The  men  seen 
by  them,  were  travellers,  who  had  associated  for  mutual 
security,  and  who,  after  partaking  of  a  morning’s  repast, 
resumed  their  journey,  unknown  to  the  savages ;  when 
Mr.  Brain  and  the  sons  of  Mr.  Powell  [203]  went  to  their 
day’s  work.  Being  engaged  in  carrying  clap-boards  for 
covering  a  cabin,  at  some  distance  from  the  house,  they 
were  soon  heard  by  the  Indians,  who,  despairing  of  suc¬ 
ceeding  in  an  attack  on  the  house,  changed  their  position, 
&  concealed  themselves  by  the  side  of  the  path,  along 
which  those  engaged  at  work  had  to  go.  Mr.  Brain  and 
one  of  his  sons  being  at  a  little  distance  in  front  of  them, 
they  fired  and  Brain  fell.  He  was  then  tomahawked  and 
scalped,  while  another  of  the  party  followed  and  caught 
the  son  as  he  was  attempting  to  escape  by  flight. 

Three  other  boys  were  then  some  distance  behind  and 
out  of  sight,  and  hearing  the  report  of  the  gun  which 
killed  Brain,  for  an  instant  supposed  that  it  proceeded 
from  the  rifle  of  some  hunter  in  quest  of  deer.  They  were 
soon  satisfied  that  this  supposition  was  unfounded.  Three 
Indians  came  running  towards  them,  bearing  their  guns  in 
one  hand,  and  tomahawks  in  the  other.  One  of  the  boys 
stupefied  by  terror, — and  unable  to  stir  from  the  spot,  was 
immediately  made  prisoner.  Another,  the  son  of  Powell, 
was  also  soon  caught;  but  the  third,  finding  himself  out 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


281 


of  sight  of  his  pursuer,  ran  to  one  side  and  concealed  him¬ 
self  in  a  bunch  of  alders,  where  he  remained  until  the  In¬ 
dian  passed  the  spot  where  he  lay,  when  he  arose,  and 
taking  a  different  direction,  ran  with  all  his  speed,  and  ef¬ 
fected  an  escape.  The  little  'prisoners  were  then  brought 
together;  and  one  of  Mr.  Powell’s  sons,  being  discovered 
to  have  but  one  eye,  was  stripped  naked,  had  a  tomahawk 
sunk  into  his  head,  a  spear  ran  through  his  body,  and  the 
scalp  then  removed  from  from  his  bleeding  head. 

The  little  Powell  who  had  escaped  from  the  savages, 
being  forced  to  go  a  direction  opposite  to  the  house,  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  a  station  about  eight  miles  off,  &  communicated 
intelligence  of  what  had  been  done  at  Brain’s.  A  party 
of  men  equipped  themselves  and  went  immediately  to  the 
scene  of  action;  but  the  Indians  had  hastened  homeward, 
as  soon  as  they  perpetrated  their  horrid  cruelties.  One 
of  their  little  captives,  (Benjamin  Brain)  being  asked  by 
them,  “  how  many  men  were  at  the  house,”  replied 
“  twelve.”  To  the  question,  “  how  far  from  thence  was 
the  nearest  fort,”  he  answered  “two  miles.”  Yet  he  well 
knew  that  there  was  no  fort,  nearer  than  eight  miles,  and 
that  there  was  not  a  man  at  the  house, — Mr.  Powell  being 
from  home,  and  the  twelve  travellers  having  departed,  be¬ 
fore  his  father  and  he  had  gone  out  to  1204]  work.  Ilis 
object  was  to  save  his  mother  and  the  other  women  and 
children,  from  captivity  or  death,  by  inducing  them  to 
believe  that  it  would  be  extremely  dangerous  to  venture 
near  the  house.  He  succeeded  in  the  attainment  of  his 
object.  Deterred  by  the  prospect  of  being  discovered,  and 
perhaps  defeated  by  the  superior  force  of  the  white  men, 
represented  to  be  at  Mr.  Brain’s,  they  departed  in  the 
greatest  hurry,  taking  with  them  their  two  little  prisoners, 
Benjamin  and  Isaac  Brain. 

So  stilly  had  the  whole  affair  been  conducted  (the  re¬ 
port  of  a  gun  being  too  commonly  heard  to  excite  any  sus¬ 
picion  of  what  was  doing,)  and  so  expeditiously  had  the 
little  boy  who  escaped,  and  the  men  who  accompanied 
him  back,  moved  in  their  course,  that  the  first  intimation 
ffiven  Mrs.  Brain  of  the  fate  of  her  husband 
the  men  who  came  in  pursuit. 


,  was  given  by 


282 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


Soon  after  the  happening  of  this  affair,  a  party  of  In¬ 
dians  came  into  the  Buchannon  settlement,  and  made 
prisoner  Leonard  Schoolcraft,  a  youth  of  about  sixteen, 
who  had  been  sent  from  the  fort  on  some  business. — When 
arrived  at  their  towns  and  arrangements  being  made  for 
liis  running  the  gauntlet,  he  was  told  that  he  might  defend 
himself  against  the  blows  of  the  young  Indians  who  were 
to  pursue  him  to  the  council  house.  Being  active  and 
athletic,  he  availed  himself  of  this  privilege,  so  as  to  save 
himself  from  the  beating  which  he  would  otherwise  have 
received,  and  laying  about  him  with  well  timed  blows,  fre¬ 
quently  knocked  down  those  who  came  near  to  him — 
much  to  the  amusement  of  the  warriors,  according  to  the 
account  given  by  others,  who  were  then  prisoners  and 
present.  This  was  the  last  certain  information  which  was 
ever  had  concerning  him.  He  was  believed  however,  to 
have  been  afterwards  in  his  old  neighborhood  in  the  ca¬ 
pacity  of  guide  to  the  Indians,  and  aiding  them,  by  his 
knowledge  of  the  country,  in  making  successful  incursions 
into  it. 

In  the  month  of  June,  at  Martin's  fort  on  Crooked 
Bun,  another  murderous  scene  was  exhibited  by  the  sav¬ 
ages.  The  greater  part  of  the  men  having  gone  forth 
early  to  their  farms,  and  those  who  remained,  being  unap¬ 
prehensive  of  immediate  danger,  and  consequently  supine 
and  careless,  the  fort  was  necessarily,  easily  accessible,  and 
the  vigilance  of  the  savages  who  were  lying  hid  around 
it,  discovering  its  exposed  and  [205]  weakened  situation, 
seized  the  favorable  moment  to  attack  those  who  were 
without.  The  women  were  engaged  in  milking  the  cows 
outside  the  gate,  and  the  men  who  had  been  left  behind 
were  loitering  around.  The  Indians  rushed  forward,  and 
killed  and  made  prisoners  of  ten  of  them.  James  Stuart, 
James  Smally  and  Peter  Crouse,  were  the  only  persons 
who  fell,  and  John  Shiver  and  his  wife,  two  sons  of  Stu¬ 
art,  two  sons  of  Smally  and  a  son  of  Crouse,  were  carried 
into  captivity.  According  to  their  statement  upon  their 
return,  there  were  thirteen  Indians  in  the  party  which 
surprised  them,  and  emboldened  by  success,  instead  of  re¬ 
treating  with  their  prisoners,  remained  at  a  little  distance 


283 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

from  the  fort  ’till  night,  when  they  put  the  captives  in  a 
waste  house  near,  under  custody  of  two  of  the  savages, 
while  the  remaining  eleven,  went  to  see  if  they  could  not 
succeed  in  forcing  an  entrance  at  the  gate.  But  the  dis¬ 
aster  of  the  morning  had  taught  the  inhabitants  the  ne¬ 
cessity  of  greater  watchfulness.  The  dogs  were  shut  out 
at  night,  and  the  approach  of  the  Indians  exciting  them 
to  bark  freely,  gave  notice  of  impending  danger,  in  time 
for  them  to  avert  it.  The  attempt  to  take  the  fort  being 
thus  frustrated,  the  savages  returned  to  the  house  in  which 
the  prisoners  were  confined,  and  moved  off  with  them  to 
their  towns. 

In  August,  two  daughters  of  Captain  David  Scott 
living  at  the  mouth  of  Pike  run,  going  to  the  meadow  with 
dinner  for  the  mowers,  were  taken  by  some  Indians  who 
were  watching  the  path.  The  younger  was  killed  on  the 
spot;  but  the  latter  being  taken  some  distance  farther,  and 
every  search  for  her  proving  unavailing,  her  father  fondly 
hoped  that  she  had  been  carried  into  captivity,  and  that 
he  might  redeem  her.  For  this  purpose  he  visited  Pitts¬ 
burg  and  engaged  the  service  of  a  friendly  Indian  to  as¬ 
certain  where  she  was  and  endeavour  to  prevail  on  them 
to  ransom  her.  Before  his  return  from  Fort  Pitt,  some 
of  his  neighbors  directed  to  the  spot  by  the  buzzards  hov¬ 
ering  over  it,  found  her  half  eaten  and  mutilated  body. 

In  September,  Nathaniel  Davisson  and  his  brother, 
being  on  a  hunting  expedition  up  Ten  Mile,  left  their  camp 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  they  intended 
to  return  home  ;  and  naming  an  hour  at  which  they  would 
be  back,  proceeded  through  the  woods  in  different  direc¬ 
tions.  At  the  appointed  time,  Josiali  went  to  the  camp, 
and  after  waiting  there  in  vain  for  the  arrival  of  his 
brother,  and  becoming  uneasy  lest  [206]  some  unluck}^ 
accident  had  befallen  him,  he  set  out  in  search  of  him. 
Unable  to  see  or  hear  anything  of  him  he  returned  home, 
and  prevailed  on  several  of  his  neighbors  to  aid  in  en¬ 
deavouring  to  ascertain  his  fate.  Their  search  was  like¬ 
wise  unavailing ;  but  in  the  following  March,  he  was  found 
by  John  Bead,  while  hunting  in  that  neighborhood.  lie 
had  been  shot  and  scalped;  and  notwithstanding  he  had 


284 


Withers's  Chronicles 


lain  out  nearly  six  months,  yet  he  was  but  little  torn  by 
wild  beasts,  and  was  easily  recognized. 

During  this  year  too,  Tygarts  Valley,  which  had  es¬ 
caped  being  visited  by  the  Indians  in  1778  again  heard 
their  harrowing  yells  ;  and  although  but  little  mischief  was 
done  by  them  while  there,  yet  its  inhabitants  were  awhile, 
kept  in  fearful  apprehension  that  greater  ills  would  betide 
them.  In  October  of  this  year,  a  party  of  them  lying  in 
ambush  near  the  road,  fired  several  shots  at  Lieut.  John 
White,  riding  by,  but  with  no  other  effect  than  by  wound¬ 
ing  the  horse  to  cause  him  to  throw  his  rider.  This  was 
fatal  to  White.  Being  left  on  foot  and  on  open  ground,  he 
was  soon  shot,  tomahawked  and  scalped. 

As  soon  as  this  event  was  made  known,  Capt.  Benja¬ 
min  Wilson,  with  his  wonted  promptitude  and  energy, 
raised  a  companj?  of  volunteers,  and  proceeding  by  forced 
marches  to  the  Indian  crossing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sandy 
fork  of  Little  Kenhawa,  he  remained  there  nearly  three 
days  with  a  view  to  intercept  the  retreat  of  the  savages. 
They  however,  returned  by  another  way  and  his  scheme, 
of  cutting  them  off  while  crossing  the  river,  consequently 
failed. 

Some  time  after  this  several  families  in  the  Buchan- 
non  settlement,  left  the  fort  and  returned  to  their  homes, 
under  the  belief  that  the  season  had  advanced  too  far,  for 
the  Indians  again  to  come  among  them.  But  they  were 
sorely  disappointed.  The  men  being  all  assembled  at  the 
fort  for  the  purpose  of  electing  a  Captain,  some  Indians 
fell  upon  the  family  of  John  Schoolcraft,  and  killed  the 
women  and  eight  children, — two  little  boys  only  were 
taken  prisoners.  A  small  girl,  who  had  been  scalped  and 
tomahawked  ’till  a  portion  of  her  brains  was  forced  from 
her  head,  was  found  the  next  day  yet  alive,  and  continued 
to  live  for  several  days,  the  brains  still  oozing  from  the 
fracture  of  her  skull. 

The  last  mischief  that  was  done  this  fall,  was  perpe¬ 
trated  at  the  house  of  Samuel  Cottrail  near  to  the  present 
town  of  Clarksburg. — During  the  night  considerable  fear 
was  excited,  both  at  CottriaPs  and  at  Sotha  Hickman’s  on 
the  opposite  side  of  Elk  creek,  by  the  continued  barking 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


285 


of  the  dogs,  that  Indians  were  lurking  near,  and  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  this  apprehension  Cottrial,  on  going  to  bed,  se¬ 
cured  well  the  doors  and  directed  that  no  one  should  stir 
out  in  the  morning  until  it  was  ascertained  that  there  was 
no  danger  threatening.  A  while  before  day,  Cottrial  be¬ 
ing  fast  asleep,  Moses  Coleman,  who  lived  with  him,  got 
up,  shelled  some  corn,  and  giving  a  few  ears  to  Cottrial’s 
nephew  with  directions  to  feed  the  pigs  around  [207]  the 
yard,  went  to  the  hand  mill  in  an  out  house,  and  com¬ 
menced  grinding.  The  little  boy,  being  squatted  down 
shelling  the  corn  to  the  pigs,  found  himself  suddenly 
drawn  on  his  back  and  an  Indian  standing  over  him,  order¬ 
ing  him  to  lie  there.  The  savage  then  turned  toward  the 
house  in  which  Coleman  was,  fired,  and  as  Coleman  fell 
ran  up  to  scalp  him.  Thinking  this  a  favorable  time  for 
him  to  reach  the  dwelling  house,  the  little  boy  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and  running  to  the  door,  it  was  opened  and  he 
admitted.  Scarcely  was  it  closed  after  him,  when  one  of 
the  Indians  with  his  tomahawk  endeavored  to  break  it 
open.  Cottrail  fired  through  the  door  at  him,  and  be  went 
off.  In  order  to  see  if  others  were  about,  and  to  have  a 
better  opportunity  of  shooting  with  effect,  Cottrail  as¬ 
cended  the  loft,  and  looking  through  a  crevice  saw  them 
hastening  away  through  the  field  and  at  too  great  distance 
for  him  to  shoot  with  the  expectation  of  injuring  them. 
Yet  he  continued  to  fire  and  halloo ;  to  give  notice  of 
danger  to  those  who  lived  near  him. 

The  severity  of  the  following  winter  put  a  momentary 
stop  to  savage  inroad,  and  gave  to  the  inhabitants  on  the 
frontier  an  interval  of  quiet  and  repose  extremely  desir¬ 
able  to  them,  after  the  dangers  and  confinement  of  the 
preceding  season.  Hostilities  were  however,  resumed  upon 
the  first  appearance  of  spring,  and  acts  of  murder  and  de¬ 
vastation,  wThich  had,  of  necessity,  been  suspended  for  a 
time,  were  begun  to  be  committed,  with  a  firm  determina¬ 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  savages,  utterly  to  exterminate  the 
inhabitants  of  the  western  country.  To  effect  this  object, 
an  expedition  was  concerted  between  the  British  com¬ 
mandant  at  Detroit  and  the  Indian  Chiefs  north  west  of 
the  Ohio  to  be  carried  on  by  their  united  forces  against 


286 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Kentucky,  while  an  Indian  army  alone,  was  to  penetrate 
North  Western  Virginia,  and  spread  desolation  over  its 
surface.  No  means  which  could  avail  to  ensure  success 
and  which  lay  within  their  reach,  were  left  unemployed. 
The  army  destined  to  operate  against  Kentucky,  was  to 
consist  of  six  hundred  Indians  and  Canadians,  to  he  com¬ 
manded  by  Col.  Byrd  (a  British  officer)  and  furnished  with 
every  implement  of  destruction,  from  the  war  club  of  the 
savages,  to  the  cannon  of  their  allies.1  Happily  for  North 
Western  Virginia,  its  situation  exempted  its  inhabitants 
from  having  to  contend  against  these  instruments  of  war; 
the  want  of  roads  prevented  the  transportation  of  cannon 
through  the  intermediate  forests,  and  the  difficulty  and 
labor  of  propelling  them  up  the  Ohio  river,  forbade  the 
attempt  in  that  way. 

While  the  troops  were  collecting  for  these  expeditions, 
and  other  preparations  were  making  for  carrying  them  on, 
the  settlements  of  North  Western  Virginia  were  not  free 
from  invasion.  Small  parties  of  Indians  would  enter  them 
at  unguarded  moments,  and  kill  and  plunder,  whenever 
opportunities  occurred  of  their  being  done  with  impunity, 
and  then  retreat  to  their  villages.  Early  in  March  (1780) 
Thomas  Lackey  discovered  some  mocason  tracks  near  the 
upper  extremity  of  Tygarts  Valley,  and  thought  he  heard 
a  voice  saying  in  [208]  an  under  tone,  ulet  him  alone,  he  will 
go  and  bring  more."  Alarmed  by  these  circumstances,  he 
proceeded  to  Hadden’s  fort  and  told  there  what  he  had 
seen,  and  what  he  believed,  he  had  heard.  Being  so  early 
in  the  season  and  the  weather  yet  far  from  mild,  none 
heeded  his  tale,  and  but  few  believed  it.  On  the  next  day 
however,  as  Jacob  Warwick,  William  Warwick  and  some 
others  from  Greenbrier  were  about  leaving  the  fort  on 
their  return  home,  it  was  agreed  that  a  company  of  men 
should  accompany  them  some  distance  on  the  road.  Un¬ 
apprehensive  of  danger,  in  spite  of  the  warning  of  Lackey, 
they  were  proceeding  carelessly  on  their  way,  when  they 
were  suddenly  attacked  by  some  Indians  lying  in  ambush, 

1  See  p.  262,  note,  for  account  of  Capt.  Henry  Bird’s  attack  on  Fort 
Laurens. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


287 


near  to  the  place,  where  the  mocason  tracks  had  been  seen 
on  the  preceding  day.  The  men  on  horse  back,  all  got 
safely  off;  but  those  on  foot  were  less  fortunate.  The  In¬ 
dians  having  occupied  the  pass  both  above  and  below,  the 
footmen  had  no  chance  of  escape  but  in  crossing  the  river 
and  ascending  a  steep  bluff,  on  its  opposite  side.  In  at¬ 
tempting  this  several  lost  their  lives.  John  McLain  was 
killed  about  thirty  yards  from  the  brow  of  the  hill. — 
James  Ralston,  when  a  little  farther  up  it,  and  James 
Crouch  was  wounded  after  having  nearly  reached  its  sum¬ 
mit,  yet  he  got  safely  off  and  returned  to  the  fort  on  the 
next  day.  John  Nelson,  after  crossing  over,  endeavored 
to  escape  down  the  river;  but  being  there  met  by  a  stout 
warrior,  he  too  was  killed,  after  a  severe  struggle.  His 
shattered  gun  breech,  the  uptorn  earth,  and  the  locks  of 
Indian  hair  in  his  yet  clenched  hands,  showed  that  the 
victory  over  him  had  not  been  easily  won. 

Soon  after  this,  the  family  of  John  Gibson  were  sur¬ 
prised  at  their  sugar  camp,  on  a  branch  of  the  Valley 
river,  and  made  prisoners.  Mrs.  Gibson,  being  incapable 
of  supporting  the  fatigue  of  walking  so  far  and  fast,  was 
tomahawked  and  scalped  in  the  presence  of  her  children. 

West’s  fort  on  Hacker’s  creek,  was  also  visited  by  the 
savages,  early  in  this  year.1  The  frequent  incursions  of 

1  Mr.  McWhorter  says  that  this  fort  stood  on  an  eminence,  where  is 
now  the  residence  of  Minor  C.  Hall.  Upon  the  fort  being  abandoned  by 
the  settlers,  the  Indians  burned  it.  When  the  whites  again  returned  to 
th£*r  plearings,  a  new  fort  was  erected,  locally  called  Beech  Fort,  “  be¬ 
cause  bu?!*-  entirely  of  beech  logs — beech  trees  standing  very  thick  in 
this  locality. ”  5>pch  Fort  was  not  over  500  yards  from  the  old  West 
Fort;  it  was  “ in  a  marshy  flat,  some  75  yards  east  of  the  house  built  by 
the  pioneer  Henry  McWhorter,  and  still  extant  as  the  residence  of  Ned 
J.  Jackson.”  In  the  same  field  where  Beech  Fort  was,  “Alexander  West 
discovered  an  Indian  one  evening;  he  fired  and  wounded  him  in  the 
shoulder.  The.  Indian  made  off,  and  fearing  an  ambuscade  West  would 
not  venture  in  pursuit.  Two  weeks  later,  he  ventured  to  hunt  for  the 
red  man.  Two  miles  distant,  on  what  is  now  known  as  Life’s  Run,  a 
branch  of  Hacker’s  Creek,  the  dead  savage  was  found  in  a  cleft  of  rocks, 
into  which  he  had  crawled  and  miserably  perished.  His  shoulder  was 
badly  crushed  by  West's  bullet.” 

Henry  McWhorter,  born  in  Orange  County,  N.  Y.,  November  13, 
1760,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution,  from  1777  to  the  close.  In  1784, 
he  settled  about  two  miles  from  West’s  Fort;  three  years  later,  he 


288 


Withers's  Chronicles 


the  Indians  into  this  settlement,  in  the  year  1778,  had 
caused  the  inhabitants  to  desert  their  homes  the  next 
year,  and  shelter  themselves  in  places  of  greater  security; 
hut  being  unwilling  to  give  up  the  improvements  which 
they  had  already  made  and  commence  anew  in  the  woods, 
some  few  families  returned  to  it  during  the  winter,  &  on 
the  approach  of  spring,  moved  into  the  fort.  They  had 
not  been  long  here,  before  the  savages  made  their  appear¬ 
ance,  and  continued  to  invest  the  fort  for  some  time.  Too 
weak  to  sally  out  and  give  them  battle,  and  not  knowing 
when  to  expect  relief,  the  inhabitants  were  almost  reduced 
to  despair,  when  Jesse  Hughs  resolved  at  his  own  hazard, 
to  try  to  obtain  assistance  to  drive  off  the  enemy.  Leav¬ 
ing  the  fort  at  night,  he  broke  by  their  sentinels  and  ran 
with  speed  to  the  Buchannon  fort.  Here  he  prevailed  on  a 
party  of  the  men  to  accompany  him  to  West’s,  and  relieve 
those  who  had  been  so  long  confined  there.  They  arrived 
before  day,  and  it  was  thought  advisable  to  abandon  the 
place  once  more,  and  remove  to  Buchannon.  On  their 
way,  the  [209]  Indians  used  every  artifice  to  separate  the 
party,  so  as  to  gain  an  advantageous  opportunity  of  attack¬ 
ing  them  ;  but  in  vain.  They  exercised  so  much  caution, 
and  kept  so  well  together,  that  every  stratagem  was  frus¬ 
trated,  and  they  all  reached  the  fort  in  safety. 

Two  days  after  this,  as  Jeremiah  Curl,  Henry  Fink 
and  Edmund  West,  who  were  old  men,  and  Alexan¬ 
der  West,* 1  Peter  Outright,  and  Simon  Schoolcraft,  were 
returning  to  the  fort  with  some  of  their  neighbor’s 
property,  they  were  fired  at  by  the  Indians  who  were 

moved  nearer  to  the  fort,  and  there  built  the  house  of  hewn  logs,  men¬ 
tioned  above,  which  “  is  to-day  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.”  Mc¬ 
Whorter  died  February  4,  1848. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Alexander  West  was  prominent  as  a  frontier  scout.  Rev.  J.  M. 
McWhorter,  who  saw  him  frequently,  gives  this  description  of  him  :  “A 
tall,  spare-built  man,  very  erect,  strong,  lithe,  and  active ;  dark-skinned, 
prominent  Roman  nose,  black  hair,  very  keen  eyes;  not  handsome, 
rather  raw-boned,  but  with  an  air  and  mien  that  commanded  the  atten¬ 
tion  and  respect  of  those  with  whom  he  associated.  Never  aggressive, 
he  lifted  his  arm  against  the  Indians  only  in  time  of  war.”  West  died  in 
1834.  His  house  of  hewed  logs  is,  with  its  large  barn,  still  standing 
and  occupied  by  his  relatives,  about  a  mile  east  of  the  site  of  West’s 
Fort— R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


289 


lying  concealed  along  a  run  bank.  Curl  was  slightly 
wounded  under  the  chin,  hut  disdaining  to  fly  without 
making  a  stand  he  called  to  his  companions,  “ stand  your 
ground ,  for  we  are  able  to  whip  them.”  At  this  instant  a 
lusty  wTarrior  drew  a  tomahawk  from  his  belt  and  rushed 
towards  him.  Nothing  daunted  by  the  danger  which 
seemed  to  threaten  him,  Curl  raised  his  gun ;  but  the  pow¬ 
der  being  damped  by  the  blood  from  his  wound,  it  did  not 
fire.  He  instantly  picked  up  West’s  gun  (which  he  had 
been  carrying  to  relieve  West  of  part  of  his  burden)  and 
discharging  it  at  his  assailant,  brought  him  to  the  ground. 

The  whites  being  by  this  time  rid  of  their  encum¬ 
brances,  the  Indians  retreated  in  two  parties  and  pursued 
different  routes,  not  however  without  being  pursued. 
Alexander  West  being  swift  of  foot,  soon  came  near 
enough  to  fire,  and  brought  down  a  second,  but  having- 
only  wounded  him,  and  seeing  the  Indians  spring  be¬ 
hind  trees,  he  could  not  advance  to  finish  him ;  nor  could 
he  again  shoot  at  him,  the  flint  having  fallen  out  when  he 
first  fired.  Jackson  (who  was  hunting  sheep  not  far  off) 
hearing  the  report  of  the  guns,  ran  towards  the  spot,  and 
being  in  sight  of  the  Indian  when  West  shot,  saw  him 
fall  and  afterwards  recover  and  hobble  off.  Simon  School¬ 
craft,  following  after  West,  came  to  him  just  after  Jack- 
son,  with  his  gun  cocked;  and  asking  where  the  Indians 
were,  was  advised  by  Jackson  to  get  behind  a  tree,  or 
they  would  soon  let  him  know  where  they  were.  In¬ 
stantly  the  report  of  a  gun  was  heard,  and  Schoolcraft  let 
fall  his  arm.  The  ball  had  passed  through  it,  and  striking 
a  steel  tobacco  box  in  his  waistcoat  pocket,  did  him  no 
farther  injury.  Outright,  when  West  fired  at  one  of  the 
Indians,  saw  another  of  them  drop  behind  a  log,  and 
changing  his  position,  espied  him,  where  the  log  was  a 
little  raised  from  the  earth.  With  steady  nerves,  he  drew 
upon  him.  The  moaning  cry  of  the  savage,  as  he  sprang 
from  the  ground  and  moved  haltingly  away,  convinced 
them  that  the  shot  had  taken  effect.  The  rest  of  the  In¬ 
dians  continued  behind  trees,  until  they  observed  a  rein¬ 
forcement  coming  up  to  the  aid  of  the  whites,  and  they 
19 


290 


Withers’s  Chro7iiclcs 


fled  with  the  utmost  precipitancy.  Night  soon  coming 
on,  those  who  followed  them,  had  to  give  over  the  pursuit. 

A  company  of  fifteen  men  went  early  next  morning  to 
the  battle  ground,  and  taking  the  trail  of  the  Indians  and 
pursuing  it  some  distance,  came  to  where  they  had  some 
horses  (which  they  had  stolen  after  the  skirmish)  hobbled 
out  on  a  fork  of  Hacker’s  creek.  They  [210]  then  found 
the  plunder  which  the  savages  had  taken  from  neighbor¬ 
ing  houses,  and  supposing  that  their  wounded  warriors 
were  near,  the  whites  commenced  looking  for  them,  when 
a  gun  was  fired  at  them  by  an  Indian  concealed  in  a  laurel 
thicket,  which  wounded  John  Outright.1  The  whites  then 
caught  the  stolen  horses  and  returned  with  them  and  the 
plunder  to  the  fort. 

For  some  time  after  this,  there  was  nothing  occurring 
to  indicate  the  presence  of  Indians  in  the  Buchannon  set¬ 
tlement,  and  some  of  those  who  were  in  the  fort,  hoping 
that  they  should  not  be  again  visited  by  them  this  season, 
determined  on  returning  to  their  homes.  Austin  School¬ 
craft  was  one  of  these,  and  being  engaged  in  removing 
some  of  his  property  from  the  fort,  as  he  and  his  niece 
were  passing  through  a  swamp  in  their  way  to  his  house, 
they  were  shot  at  by  sortie  Indians.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  was 
killed  and  his  niece  taken  prisoner. 

In  June,  John  Owens,  John  Juggins  and  Owen  Owens, 
were  attacked  by  some  Indians,  as  they  were  going  to  their 
cornfield  on  Booth’s  creek  ;  and  the  two  former  wTere  killed 
and  scalped.  Owen  Owens  being  some  distance  behind 
them,  made  his  escape  to  the  fort.  John  Owens  the 
3’ounger,  who  had  been  to  the  pasture  field  for  the  plough 
horses,  heard  the  guns,  but  not  suspecting  any  danger  to 
be  near,  rode  forward  towards  the  cornfield.  As  he  was 
proceeding  along  the  path  by  a  fence  side,  riding  one  and 
leading  another  horse,  he  was  fired  at  by  several  Indians, 
some  of  whom  afterwards  rushed  forward  and  caught  at 
the  bridle  reins;  yet  he  escaped  unhurt  from  them  all. 

1  L.  V.  McWhorter  says:  “  The  branch  of  Hacker’s  creek  on  which 
John  Outright  was  wounded,  is  now  known  as  Laurel  Lick,  near  Berlin, 
W.  Va.”  For  notice  of  Outright,  see  p.  137,  note. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


291 


The  savages  likewise  visited  Cheat  river,  daring  the 
spring,  and  coming  to  the  house  of  John  Sims,  were  dis¬ 
covered  by  a  negro  woman,  who  ran  immediately  to  the 
door  and  alarmed  the  family. — Bernard  Sims  (just  recov¬ 
ering  from  the  small  pox)  taking  down  his  gun,  and  going 
to  the  door,  was  shot.  The  Indians,  perceiving  that  he 
was  affected  with  a  disease,  of  all  others  the  most  terrify¬ 
ing  to  them,  not  only  did  not  perform  the  accustomed 
operation  of  scalping,  but  retreated  with  as  much  rapidity, 
as  if  they  had  been  pursued  by  an  overwhelming  force  of 
armed  men, — exclaiming  as  they  ran  “ small  pox,  small 
pox.” 

After  the  attack  on  Donnelly’s  fort  in  May  1778,  the 
Indians  made  no  attempt  to  effect  farther  mischiefs  in  the 
Greenbrier  country,  until  this  year.  The  fort  at  Point 
Pleasant  guarded  the  principal  pass  to  the  settlements  on 
the  Kenhawa,  in  the  Levels,  and  on  Greenbrier  river,  and 
the  reception  with  which  they  had  met  at  Col.  Donnelly’s, 
convinced  them  that  not  much  was  to  be  gained  by  incur¬ 
sions  into  that  section  of  the  frontiers.  But  as  they  were 
now  making  great  preparations  for  effectual  operations 
against  the  whole  border  country,  a  party  of  them  was 
despatched  to  this  portion  of  it,  at  once  for  the  purpose 
of  rapine  and  murder,  and  to  ascertain  the  state  of  the 
country  and  its  capacity  to  resist  invasion. 

The  party  then  sent  into  Greenbrier  consisted  of 
twenty-two  [211]  warriors,  and  committed  their  first  act 
of  atrocity  near  the  house  of  Lawrence  Drinnan,  a  few 
miles  above  the  Little  Levels.  Henry  Baker  and  Richard 
Hill,  who  were  then  staying  there,  going  early  in  the 
morning  to  the  river  to  wash,  were  shot  at  by  them: 
Baker  was  killed,  but  Hill  escaped  back  to  the  house. 
When  the  Indians  fired  at  Baker,  he  was  near  a  fence  be¬ 
tween  the  river  and  Drinnan’s  and  within  gunshot  of  the 
latter  place.  Fearing  to  cross  the  fence  for  the  purpose  of 
scalping  him,  they  prized  it  up,  and  with  a  pole  fastening 
a  noose  around  his  neck,  drew  him  down  the  river  bank 
&  scalped  and  left  him  there. 

Apprehensive  of  an  attack  on  the  house,  Mr.  Drinnan 
made  such  preparations  as  were  in  his  power  to  repel 


292 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


them,  and  despatched  a  servant  to  the  Little  Levels,  with 
the  intelligence  and  to  procure  assistance.  He  presently 
returned  with  twenty  men,  who  remained  there  during  the 
night,  hut  in  the  morning,  seeing  nothing  to  contradict 
the  belief  that  the  Indians  had  departed,  they  buried 
Baker,  and  set  out  on  their  return  to  the  Levels,  taking 
with  them  all  who  were  at  Drinnan’s  and  the  most  of  his 
property.  Arrived  at  the  fork  of  the  road,  a  question 
arose  whether  they  should  take  the  main  route,  leading 
through  a  gap  which  was  deemed  a  favorable  situation  for 
an  ambuscade,  or  continue  on  the  farther  but  more  open 
and  secure  way.  A  majority  preferred  the  latter ;  hut  two 
young  men,  by  the  name  of  Bridger,  separated  from  the 
others,  and  travelling  on  the  nearer  path,  were  both  killed 
at  the  place,  where  it  was  feared  danger  might  be  lurking. 

The  Indians  next  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Hugh 
Mclver,  where  they  succeeded  in  killing  its  owner,  and  in 
making  prisoner  his  wife;  and  in  going  from  thence,  met 
with  John  Prior,  who  with  his  wife  and  infant  were  on 
their  way  to  the  country  on  the  south  side  of  the  Big 
Kenawha.  Prior  was  shot  through  the  breast,  but  anxious 
for  the  fate  of  his  wife  and  child,  stood  still,  ’till  one  of 
the  Indians  came  up  and  laid  hold  on  him.  Notwith¬ 
standing  the  severe  wound  which  he  had  received,  Prior 
proved  too  strong  for  his  opponent,  and  the  other  Indians 
not  interfering,  forced  him  at  length  to  disengage  himself 
from  the  struggle.  Prior,  then  seeing  that  no  violence 
was  offered  to  Mrs.  Prior  or  the  infant,  walked  off  without 
any  attempt  being  made  to  stop,  or  otherwise  molest  him: 
the  Indians  no  doubt  suffering  him  to  depart  under  the 
expectation  that  he  would  obtain  assistance  and  endeavor 
to  regain  his  wife  and  child,  and  that  an  opportunity  of 
waylaying  any  party  coming  with  this  view,  would  be 
[212]  then  afforded  them.  Prior  returned  to  the  settle¬ 
ment,  related  the  above  incidents  and  died  that  night. 
His  wife  and  child  were  never  after  heard  of,  and  it  is 
highly  probable  they  were  murdered  on  their  way,  as 
being  unable  to  travel  as  expeditiously  as  the  Indians 
wished. 

They  next  went  to  a  house,  occupied  by  Thomas 


Of  Border  Waif  are. 


293 


Drinnon  and  a  Mr.  Smith  with  their  families,  where  they 
made  prisoners  of  Mrs.  Smith,  Mrs.  Drinnon  and  a  child; 
and  going  then  towards  their  towns,  killed,  on  their  way, 
an  old  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Monday  and  his  wife. 
This  was  the  last  outrage  committed  by  the  Indians  in  the 
Greenbrier  settlements.  And  although  the  war  was  car¬ 
ried  on  by  them  against  the  frontier  settlements,  with  en¬ 
ergy  for  years  after,  yet  did  they  not  again  attempt  an 
incursion  into  it.  Its  earlier  days  had  been  days  of  tribu¬ 
lation  and  wo,  and  those  who  were  foremost  in  occupying 
and  forming  settlements  in  it,  had  to  endure  all  that  sav¬ 
age  fury  could  inflict.  Their  term  of  probation,  was  in¬ 
deed  of  comparatively  short  duration,  but  their  sufferings 
for  a  time,  were  many  and  great.  The  scenes  of  murder 
and  blood,  exhibited  on  Muddy  creek  and  the  Big  Levels 
in  1776,  will  not  soon  be  effaced  from  the  memory;  and 
the  lively  interest  excited  in  the  bosoms  of  many,  for  the 
fate  of  those  who  there  treacherously  perished,  unabated 
by  time,  still  gleams  in  the  countenance,  when  tradition 
recounts  the  tale  of  their  unhappy  lot. 


294 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[213]  CHAPTER  XIII. 

Early  in  June  1780,  every  necessary  preparation  hav¬ 
ing  been  previously  made,  the  Indian  and  Canadian  forces 
destined  to  invade  Kentucky,  moved  from  their  place  of 
rendezvous,  to  fulfil  the  objects  of  the  expedition.  In 
their  general  plan  of  the  campaign,  Louisville  was  the 
point  against  which  operations  were  first  to  be  directed. 
The  hero  of  Kaskaskias  and  St.  Vincent  had  been  for 
some  time  stationed  there,  with  a  small  body  of  troops,  to 
intercept  the  passage  of  war  parties  into  the  interior,  and 
the  force  thus  placed  under  his  command,  having  been 
considerably  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Virginia  soldiers  under  Colonel  Slaughter,  that  place 
had  assumed  the  appearence  of  a  regular  fortification,  ca¬ 
pable  of  withstanding  a  severe  shock  ;l  while  detachments 
from  it  gave  promise  of  security  to  the  settlements  remote 
from  the  river,  as  well  by  detecting  and  checking  every 
attempt  at  invasion,  as  by  acting  offensively  against  the 
main  Indian  towns,  from  which  hostile  parties  would  sally, 
spreading  desolation  along  their  path.  The  reduction  of 
this  establishment,  would  at  once  give  wider  scope  to  sav¬ 
age  hostilities  and  gratify  the  wounded  pride  of  the  Cana¬ 
dians.  Stung  by  the  boldness  and  success  of  Colonel 
Clarke’s  adventure,  and  fearing  the  effect  which  it  might 
have  on  their  Indian  allies,  they  seemed  determined  to 
achieve  a  victory  over  him,  and  strike  a  retributive  blow 
against  the  position  which  he  then  held. 

[214]  It  is  highly  probable  however,  that  the  reputa- 

1  Col.  Reuben  T.  Durrett,  in  his  Centenary  of  Louisville ,  p.  47,  says  that 
Louisville  at  this  time  consisted  of  Clark’s  original  block  house,  with 
eighteen  cabins,  on  Corn  Island,  at  the  head  of  the  rapids;  a  small  fort 
at  the  foot  of  Third  street,  erected  by  Col.  John  Floyd  in  1779 ;  “  a  large 
fort  on  the  east  side  of  a  ravine  that  entered  the  Ohio  at  Twelfth  street,, 
and  a  few  rude  log  cabins  scattered  through  the  woods  near  the  Twelfth 
street  fort,  all  occupied  by  one  hundred  inhabitants,  who  had  cleared 
and  cultivated  garden-spots  around  their  humble  cabins.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


295 


tion  which,  the  gallant  exploits  of  Colonel  Clarke  had  ac¬ 
quired  for  him,  induced  some  doubts,  in  the  minds  of  the 
commanding  officers,  of  the  ultimate  success  of  a  move¬ 
ment  against  that  post.1  They  changed  their  destination  ; 
and  when  their  army  arrived  in  their  boats  at  the  Ohio, 
instead  of  floating  with  its  rapid  current  to  the  point  pro¬ 
posed,  they  chose  to  stem  the  stream ;  and  availing  them¬ 
selves  of  an  uncommon  swell  of  the  waters,  ascended  the 
river  Licking  to  its  forks,  where  they  landed  their  men  * 
and  munitions  of  war.2 

Not  far  from  the  place  of  debarkation,  there  was  a 
station,3  reared  under  the  superintendence  of  Captain  Rud¬ 
dle,  and  occupied  by  several  families  and  many  adven¬ 
turers.  Thither  Colonel  Byrd,  with  his  combined  army 
of  Canadians  and  Indians  then  amounting  to  one  thou¬ 
sand  men,  directed  his  march;  and  arriving  before  it  on 
the  22d  of  June,  gave  the  first  notice,  which  the  inhab¬ 
itants  had  of  the  presence  of  an  enemy,  by  a  discharge  of 
his  cannon.  He  then  sent  in  a  flag,  demanding  the  imme¬ 
diate  surrender  of  the  place.  Knowing  that  it  was  im¬ 
possible  to  defend  the  station  against  artillery,  Captain 
Ruddle  consented  to  surrender  it,  provided  the  inhabitants 
should  be  considered  prisoners  to  the  British,  and  not  to 
the  Indians.  To  this  proposition  Colonel  Byrd  assented, 
and  the  gates  were  thrown  open.  The  savages  instantly 
rushed  in,  each  laying  his  hands  on  the  first  person  with 
whom  he  chanced  to  meet.  Parents  and  children,  hus¬ 
bands  and  wives,  were  thus  torn  from  each  other;  and  the 

1  The  expedition  was  sent  out  by  Maj.  A.  S.  De  Peyster,  then  British 
commandant  at  Detroit.  It  was  headed  by  Capt.  Bird,  with  whom  were 
Simon,  James,  and  George  Girty.  The  force,  as  rendezvoused  at  De¬ 
troit,  consisted  of  150  whites,  and  100  Indians  from  the  Upper  Lakes  ; 
they  carried  two  cannon.  They  were  joined  on  the  Miami  by  Capt. 
McKee,  deputy  Indian  agent,  and  a  large  party  of  Indians,  making  the 
force  of  savages  amount  to  700. — B.  G.  T. 

2  The  original  destination  was  Louisville,  but  en  route  the  Indian 
chiefs  compelled  Bird  to  first  proceed  against  the  forts  on  the  Licking. — 

II.  G.  T. 

[214]  3A  station  was  a  parallelogram  of  cabins,  united  by  palisades 
so  as  to  present  a  continued  wall  on  the  outer  side,  the  cabin  doors  open¬ 
ing  into  a  common  square,  on  the  inner  side.  They  were  the  strong 
holds  of  the  early  settlers. 


296 


Withers's  Chronicles 


air  was  rent  with  sighs  of  wailing,  and  shrieks  of  agony. 
In  vain  did  Captain  Ruddle  exclaim,  against  the  enormi¬ 
ties  which  were  perpetrated  in  contravention  to  the  terms 
of  capitulation.  To  his  remonstrances,  Colonel  Byrd  re¬ 
plied  that  he  was  unable  to  control  them,  and  affirmed, 
that  he  too  was  in  their  power. 

That  Colonel  Byrd  was  really  unable  to  check  the 
enormities  of  the  savages,  will  be  readily  admitted,  when 
the  great  disparity  of  the  Canadian  and  Indian  troops, 
and  the  lawless  and  uncontrolable  temper  of  the  latter,  are 
taken  into  consideration.  That  he  had  the  inclination  to 
stop  them,  cannot  he  [215]  doubted — his  subsequent  con¬ 
duct  furnished  the  most  convincing  evidence,  that  the 
power  to  effect  it,  was  alone  wanting  in  him.1 

After  Ruddle’s  station  had  been  completely  sacked, 
and  the  prisoners  disposed  of,  the  Indians  clamoured  to  be 
led  against  Martin’s  station,  then  only  five  miles  distant. 
Affected  with  the  barbarities  which  he  had  just  witnessed, 
Colonel  Byrd  peremptorily  refused,  unless  the  chiefs  would 
guaranty  that  the  prisoners,  which  might  be  there  taken, 
should  be  entirely  at  his  disposal.  For  awhile  the  Indians 
refused  to  accede  to  these  terms,  but  finding  Colonel  Byrd, 
inflexible  in  his  determination,  they  at  length  consented, 
that  the  prisoners  should  be  his,  provided  the  plunder  w^ere 
allowed  to  them. — Upon  this  agreement,  they  marched  for¬ 
ward.  Martin’s  station,  like  Ruddle’s,  was  incapable  of 
offering  any  available  opposition.  It  was  surrendered  on 
the  first  summons,  and  the  prisoners  and  plunder  divided, 
in  conformity  with  the  compact  between  Colonel  Byrd  and 
the  savages. 

The  facility,  with  which  these  conquests  were  made, 
excited  the  thirst  of  the  Indians  for  more.  Hot  satisfied 
with  the  plundering  of  Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  stations, 
their  rapacity  prompted  them  to  insist  on  going  against 
Bryant’s  and  Lexington.  Prudence  forbade  it.  The  waters 

1  There  seems  to  be  abundant  evidence  that  Bird,  a  competent 
officer,  was  humanely  inclined;  but  he  was  quite  in  the  power  of  his 
savage  allies,  who  wTould  brook  little  control  of  their  passions.  The 
number  of  prisoners  taken  at  Isaac  Ruddell’s  was  nearly  300;  about  fifty 
more  were  taken  at  Martin’s. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


297 


were  rapidly  subsiding,  and  the  fall  of  the  Licking  river, 
would  have  rendered  it  impracticable  to  convey  their  artil¬ 
lery  to  the  Ohio.  Their  success  too,  was  somewhat  doubt¬ 
ful;  and  it  was  even  then  difficult  to  procure  provisions, 
for  the  subsistence  of  the  prisoners  already  taken.1  Un¬ 
der  the  influence  of  these  considerations,  Colonel  Byrd 
determined. to  return  to  the  boats,  and  embarking  on  these 
his  artillery  and  the  Canadian  troops,  descended  the  river; 
while  the  Indians,  with  their  plunder,  and  the  prisoners 
taken  at  Ruddle’s,  moved  across  the  country. 

Among  those  who  were  taken  captive  at  Ruddle’s 
station,  was  a  man  of  the  name  of  Hinkstone,  remarkable 
for  activity  and  daring,  and  for  uncommon  tact  and  skill 
as  a  wToodsman.  On  the  second  night  of  their  march,  the 
Indians  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  a  sudden  shower  of  rain,  postponed  kindling 
their  tires  until  dark,  when  part  of  the  savages  engaged  in 
this  business,  while  the  remainder  guarded  the  prisoners. 
Hinkstone  thought  the  darkness  favorable  to  escape,  and 
inviting  its  attempt.  He  resolved  on  trying  it,  and  spring¬ 
ing  suddenly  from  them,  ran  a  small  [216]  distance  and 
concealed  himself  behind  a  large  log,  under  the  shade  of  a 
wide  spreading  tree.  The  alarm  was  quickly  given,  and 
the  Indians,  pursuing,  searched  for  him  in  every  direction. 
It  was  fruitless  and  unavailing.  Hid  in  thick  obscurity, 
no  eye  could  distinguish  his  prostrate  body.  Perceiving 
at  length,  by  the  subsiding  of  the  noise  without  the  camp, 
that  the  Indians  had  abandoned  the  search,  he  resumed 
his  flight,  with  the  stillness  of  death.  The  heavens  af¬ 
forded  him  no  sign,  by  which  he  could  direct  his  steps. 
Hot  a  star  twinkled  through  the  dark  clouds  which  envel¬ 
oped  the  earth,  to  point  out  his  course.  Still  he  moved 
on,  as  he  supposed,  in  the  direction  of  Lexington.  He  had 

1  The  Indians  had,  contrary  to  Bird’s  expostulations,  wantonly 
slaughtered  all  the  cattle  at  Ruddell’s  Station,  and  this  it  was  that  caused 
the  famine.  With  an  abundance  of  food  to  sustain  both  prisoners  and 
warriors,  Bird  might  readily  have  carried  out  his  purpose  of  uprooting 
nearly  every  settlement  in  Kentucky.  There  is  nothing  in  his  official 
report  of  the  expedition,  to  warrant  the  statement  that  high  water  had 
any  thing  to  do  with  the  matter. — R.  G.  T. 


298 


Withers's  Chronicles 


mistaken  the  way,  and  a  short  space  of  time,  served  to 
convince  him  that  he  was  in  error.  After  wandering 
about  for  two  hours,  he  came  in  sight  of  the  Indian  fires 
again.  Perplexed  by  his  devious  ramble,  he  was  more  at 
fault  than  ever.  The  sky  was  still  all  darkness,  and  he 
had  recourse  to  the  trees  in  vain,  to  learn  the  points  of 
the  compass  by  the  feeling  of  the  moss.  He  remembered 
that  at  nightfall,  the  wind  blew  a  gentle  breeze  from  the 
west;  but  it  had  now,  become  so  stilled,  that  it  no  longer 
made  any  impression  on  him.  The  hunter’s  expedient,  to 
ascertain  the  direction  of  the  air,  occurred  to  him. — He 
dipped  his  finger  in  water,  and,  knowing  that  evaporation 
and  coolness  would  be  first  felt  on  the  side  from  which 
the  wind  came,  he  raised  it  high  in  the  air.  It  was 
enough. — Guided  by  this  unerring  indication,  and  acting 
on  the  supposition  that  the  current  of  air  still  flowed  from 
the  point  from  which  it  had  proceeded  at  night,  he  again 
resumed  his  flight.  After  groping  in  the  wilderness  for 
some  time,  faint  and  enfeebled,  he  sat  down  to  rest  his 
wearied  limbs,  and  sought  their  invigoration  in  refreshing 
sleep.  When  he  awoke,  fresh  dangers  encircled  him,  but 
he  was  better  prepared  to  elude,  or  encounter  them. 

At  the  first  dawn  of  day,  his  ears  were  assailed  by  the 
tremulous  bleating  of  the  fawn,  the  hoarse  gobbling  of 
the  turkey,  and  the  peculiar  sounds  of  other  wild  animals. 
Familiar  with  the  deceptive  artifices,  practised  to  allure 
game  to  the  hunter,  he  was  quickly  alive  to  the  fact,  that 
they  were  the  imitative  cries  of  savages  in  quest  of  pro¬ 
visions.  Sensible  of  his  situation,  he  became  vigilant  to 
discover  .the  approach  of  danger,  and  active  in  avoiding  it. 
Several  times  however,  with  all  his  wariness,  he  found  him¬ 
self  within  a  few  paces  of  [217]  some  one  of  the  Indians; 
but  fortunately  escaping  their  observation,  made  good  his 
escape,  and  reached  Lexington  in  safety,  gave  there  the 
harrowing  intelligence  of  what  had  befallen  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  Ruddle’s  and  Martin’s  stations. 

The  Indians  after  the  escape  of  Ilinkstone,  crossed 
the  Ohio  river  at  the  mouth  of  Licking,  and,  separating 
into  small  parties,  proceeded  to  their  several  villages.  The 
Canadian  troops  descended  Licking  to  the  Ohio,  and  this 


Of  Border  Warfare.  299 

river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  up  which  they  as¬ 
cended  as  far  as  it  was  navigable  for  their  boats,  and  made 
their  way  thence  by  land  to  Detroit. 

The  Indian  army  destined  to  operate  against  North 
Western  Virginia,  was  to  enter  the  country  in  two  divi¬ 
sions  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  warriors  each ;  the  one 
crossing  the  Ohio  near  below  Wheeling,  the  other,  at  the 
mouth  of  Racoon  creek,  about  sixty  miles  farther  up. 
Both  were,  avoiding  the  stronger  forts,  to  proceed  directly 
to  Washington,  then  known  as  Catfishtown,  between 
which  place  and  the  Ohio,  the  whole  country  was  to  be 
laid  waste. 

The  division  crossing  below  Wheeling,  was  soon  discov¬ 
ered  by  scouts,  who  giving  the  alarm,  caused  most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  more  proximate  settlements,  to  fly  im¬ 
mediately  to  that  place,  supposing  that  an  attack  was 
meditated  on  it.  The  Indians  however,  proceeded  on  the 
way  to  Washington  making  prisoners  of  many,  who, 
although  apprized  that  an  enemy  was  in  the  country,  yet 
feeling  secure  in  their  distance  from  what  was  expected  to 
he  the  theatre  of  operations,  neglected  to  use  the  precau¬ 
tion  necessary  to  guard  them  against  becoming  captives 
to  the  savages.  From  all  the  prisoners,  they  learned  the 
same  thing, — that  the  inhabitants  had  gone  to  Wheeling 
with  a  view  of  concentrating  the  force  of  the  settlements 
to  effect  their  repulsion.  This  intelligence  alarmed  them. 
The  chiefs  held  a  council,  in  which  it  was  determined,  in¬ 
stead  of  proceeding  to  Washington,  to  retrace  their  steps 
across  the  Ohio,  lest  their  retreat,  if  delayed  ’till  the  whites 
had  an  opportunity  of  organizing  themselves  for  battle, 
should  be  entirely  cut  off.  Infuriate  at  the  blasting  of 
their  hopes  of  blood  and  spoil,  they  resolved  to  murder 
all  their  male  prisoners — exhausting  on  their  devoted 
heads,  the  fury  of  disappointed  expectation.  Preparations 
to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect,  were  immediately  begun 
to  be  made. 

The  unfortunate  victims  to  their  savage  wrath,  were 
led  [218]  forth  from  among  their  friends  and  their  fam¬ 
ilies, — their  hands  were  pinioned  behind  them, — a  rope 
was  fastened  about  the  neck  of  each  and  that  bound  around 


300 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


a  tree,  so  as  to  prevent  any  motion  of  the  head.  The  tom¬ 
ahawk  and  scalping  knife  were  next  drawn  from  their 
belts,  and  the  horrid  purpose  of  these  preparations,  fully 
consummated. 

“  Imagination's  utmost  stretch  ”  can  hardly  fancy  a 
more  heart-rending  scene  than  was  there  exhibited.  Par¬ 
ents,  in  the  bloom  of  life  and  glow  of  health,  mercilessly 
mangled  to  death,  in  the  presence  of  children,  whose  sob¬ 
bing  cries  served  but  to  heighten  the  torments  of  the 
dying. — Husbands,  cruelly  lacerated,  and  by  piece-meal 
deprived  of  life,  in  view  of  the  tender  partners  of  their 
bosoms,  whose  agonizing  shrieks,  increasing  the  anguish 
of  torture,  sharpened  the  sting  of  death.  It  is  indeed 

- “A  fearful  thing, 

To  eee  the  human  bojiI,  take  wing, 

In  any  shape, — in  any  mood 

but  that  wives  and  children  should  he  forced  to  behold  the 
last  ebb  of  life,  and  to  witness  the  struggle  of  the  depart¬ 
ing  spirit  of  husbands  and  fathers,  under  such  horrific 
circumstances,  is  shocking  to  humanity,  and  appalling, 
even  in  contemplation. 

Barbarities  such  as  these,  had  considerable  influence 
on  the  temper  and  disposition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
country.  They  gave  birth  to  a  vindictive  feeling  in  many, 
which  led  to  the  perpetration  of  similar  enormities  and 
sunk  civilized  man,  to  the  degraded  level  of  the  barbarian. 
They  served  too,  to  arouse  them  to  greater  exertion,  to 
subdue  the  savage  foe  in  justifiable  warfare,  and  thus  pre¬ 
vent  their  unpleasant  recurrence. 

So  soon  as  the  Indian  forces  effected  a  precipitate  re¬ 
treat  across  the  Ohio,  preparations  were  begun  to  be  made 
for  acting  offensively  against  them.  An  expedition  was 
concerted,  to  be  carried  on  against  the  towns  at  the  forks 
of  the  Muskingum  ;  and  through  the  instrumentality  of 
Col’s  Zane  and  Shepard,  Col.  Broadhead,  commander  of 
the  forces  at  Fort  Pitt,  was  prevailed  upon  to  co-operate 
in  it.1  Before  however,  it  could  be  carried  into  effect,  it 


1  Col.  Daniel  Brodhead  was  in  command  of  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment.  He  succeeded  McIntosh  at  Fort  Pitt,  in  April,  1779. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


301 


was  deemed  advisable  to  proceed  against  the  Miinsie  towns, 
up  the  north  branch  of  the  Alleghany  river ;  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  which,  had  been  long  engaged  in  active  [219]  hos¬ 
tilities,  and  committed  frequent  depredations  on  the  fron¬ 
tiers  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  campaign  against  them,  as 
many  of  those,  who  resided  in  the  settlements  around 
Wheeling,  as  could  he  spared  from  the  immediate  defence 
of  their  own  neighborhoods,  were  consociated  with  the 
Pennsylvania  troops,  and  the  regulars  under  Col.  Broad- 
head.  It  eventuated  in  the  entire  destruction  of  all  their 
corn,  (upwards  of  200  acres,)  and  in  the  cutting  off  a  party 
of  forty  warriors,  on  their  way  to  the  settlements  in  West¬ 
moreland  county. 

Very  soon  after  the  return  of  the  army,  from  the 
Alleghany,  the  troops,  with  which  it  was  intended  to  ope¬ 
rate  against  the  Indian  villages  up  the  Muskingum  and 
amounting  to  eight  hundred,  rendezvoused  at  Wheeling. 
From  thence,  they  proceeded  directly  for  the  place  of  des¬ 
tination,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Broadhead.1 

When  the  army  arrived  near  to  Salem  (a  Moravian 
town,)2  many  of  the  militia  expressed  a  determination  to 
go  forward  and  destroy  it,  but  as  the  Indians  residing 
there,  had  ever  been  in  amity  with  the  whites,  and  were 
not  known  to  have  ever  participated  in  the  murderous 
deeds  of  their  more  savage  red  brethren,  the  officers  ex¬ 
erted  themselves  effectually,  to  repress  that  determination. 
Col.  Broadhead  sent  forward  an  express  to  the  Rev’d  Mr. 
Heckewelder  (the  missionary  of  that  place,)3  acquainting 

1  Brodhead  set  out  from  Fort  Pitt,  April  7,  1781,  with  150  regulars; 
at  Wheeling  he  picked  up  David  Shepherd,  lieutenant  of  Ohio  County, 
Ya.,  with  134  militia,  including  officers;  besides  these  were  five  friendly 
Indians,  eager  for  Delaware  scalps. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Salem,  established  by  Heckewelder  for  his  Indian  converts,  was 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tuscarawas,  a  mile  and  a  half  south-west  of 
the  present  Port  Washington. — R.  G.  T. 

3  John  Gottlieb  Ernestus  Heckewelder  was  born  at  Bedford,  Eng¬ 
land,  March  12,  1743.  Coming  to  Pennsylvania  in  1754,  he  was  at  first  a 
cooper,  but  later  became  an  assistant  to  Charles  Frederick  Post,  the 
Moravian  missionary.  In  1771,  he  first  became  an  evangelist  to  the  In¬ 
dians,  on  his  own  account,  and  spent  fifteen  years  in  Ohio,  where  he  as¬ 
sisted  in  the  work  of  David  Zeisberger.  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  and 
made  important  contributions  to  the  study  of  American  archaeology  an4 


302 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


him  with  the  object  of  the  expedition,  &  requesting  a  small 
supply  of  provisions,  and  that  he  would  accompany  the 
messenger  to  camp.  When  Mr.  Heckewelder  came,  the 
commander  enquired  of  him,  if  any  Christian  Indians  were 
engaged  in  hunting  or  other  business,  in  the  direction  of 
their  march, — stating,  that  if  they  were,  they  might  be 
exposed  to  danger,  as  it  would  be  impracticable  to  dis¬ 
tinguish  between  them  and  other  Indians,  and  that  he 
should  greatly  regret  the  happening  to  them,  of  any  un¬ 
pleasant  occurrence,  through  ignorance  or  mistake.  On 
hearing  there  were  not,  the  army  was  ordered  to  resume 
its  march,  and  proceeded  towards  the  forks  of  the  river. 

At  White  Eyes  plain,  near  to  the  place  of  destination, 
an  Indian  was  discovered  and  made  prisoner.  Two  others 
were  seen  near  there,  and  fired  at;  and  notwithstand¬ 
ing  one  of  them  was  wounded,  yet  both  succeeded  in 
effecting  their  escape.  Apprehensive  that  they  would 
hasten  to  the  Indian  towns,  and  communicate  the  fact 
that  an  army  of  whites  was  near  at  hand,  Col.  Broad- 
head  moved  rapidly  forward  with  the  [220]  troops, 
notwithstanding  a  heavy  fall  of  rain,  to  reach  Cos¬ 
hocton,  (the  nearest  village,)* 1  and  take  it  by  surprise. 
His  expectations  were  not  disappointed.  Approaching 
the  town,  the  right  wing  of  the  army  was  directed  to  oc¬ 
cupy  a  position  above  it,  on  the  river ;  the  left  to  assume 
a  stand  below,  while  the  centre  marched  directly  upon  it. 
The  Indian  villages,  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  an  enemy 
was  in  their  country,  were  all  made  prisoners  without  the 
firing  of  a  single  gun.  So  rapid,  and  yet  so  secret,  had 
been  the  advance  of  the  army,  that  every  part  of  the  town 
was  occupied  by  the  troops,  before  the  Indians  knew  of  its 
approach. 

Successful  as  they  thus  far  were,  yet  the  expedition 
accomplished  but  a  portion  of  what  had  been  contempla¬ 
ted.  The  other  towns  were  situated  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  and  this  was  so  swollen  by  the  excessive  rains 

ethnology.  The  last  thirteen  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  literary 
work.  He  died  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  January  21,  1823. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Called  in  some  of  the  contemporary  chronicles,  Goschocking. — R. 
G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


303 


which  had  fallen  and  continued  yet  to  deluge  the  earth, 
that  it  was  impracticable  to  cross  over  to  them ;  and  Col. 
Broadhead,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  achieving  any 
thing  farther,  commenced  laying  waste  the  crops  about 
Coshocton.  This  measure  was  not  dictated  by  a  spirit  of 
revenge,  naturally  enkindled  by  the  exterminating  war¬ 
fare,  waged  against  the  whites  by  the  savages,  but  was  a 
politic  expedient,  to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  their 
horrid  purposes  and  to  lessen  the  frequency  of  their  in¬ 
cursions.  When  they  fail  to  derive  sustenance  from  their 
crops  of  corn  and  other  edible  vegetables,  the  Indians  are 
forced  to  have  recourse  to  hunting,  to  obtain  provisions, 
and  consequently,  to  suspend  their  hostile  operations  for  a 
season.  To  produce  this  desirable  result,  w^as  the  object 
sought  to  be  obtained  by  the  destruction  which  was  made 
of  every  article  of  subsistence,  found  here  and  at  the  Mun- 
sie  towns,  and  subsequently  at  other  places. 

It  remained  then  to  dispose  of  the  prisoners.  Sixteen 
warriors,  particularly  obnoxious  for  their  diabolical  deeds, 
were  pointed  out  by  Pekillon  (a  friendly  Delaware  chief 
who  accompanied  the  army  of  Col.  Broadhead)  as  fit  sub¬ 
jects  of  retributive  justice;  and  taken  into  close  custody. 
A  council  of  war  was  then  held,  to  determine  on  their 
fate,  and  which  doomed  them  to  death.  They  were  taken 
some  distance  from  town,  despatched  with  tomahawks  and 
spears,  and  then  scalped.  The  other  captives  were  com¬ 
mitted  to  the  care  of  the  militia,  to  he  conducted  to  Fort 
Pitt. 

On  the  morning  after  the  taking  of  Coshocton,  an  In¬ 
dian,  [221]  making  his  appearance  on  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  river,  called  out  for  the  “  Big  Captain.”  Col. 
Broadhead  demanded  what  he  wished.  I  want  peace  re¬ 
plied  the  savage.  Then  send  over  some  of  your  chiefs, 
said  the  Colonel.  May  be  you  kill,  responded  the  Indian. 
Ho,  said  Broadhead,  they  shall  not  be  killed.  One  of  their 
chiefs,  a  fine  looking  fellow,  then  come  over;  and  while 
he  and  Col.  Broadhead  were  engaged  in  conversation,  a 
militiaman  came  up,  and  with  a  tomahawk  which  he  had 
concealed  in  the  bosom  of  his  hunting  shirt,  struck  him  a 


304 


Withers's  Chronicles 


severe  blow  on  the  hinder  part  of  his  head.  The  poor  In¬ 
dian  fell,  and  immediately  expired. 

This  savage  like  deed  was  the  precursor  of  other,  and 
perhaps  equally  attrocious  enormities.  The  army  on  its 
return,  had  not  proceeded  more  than  half  a  mile  from 
Coshocton,  when  the  militia  guarding  the  prisoners,  com¬ 
menced  murdering  them.  In  a  short  space  of  time,  a  few 
women  and  children  alone  remained  alive.  These  were 
taken  to  Fort  Pitt,  and  after  a  while  exchanged  for  an 
equal  number  of  white  captives. 

The  putting  to  death  the  sixteen  prisoners  designated 
by  Pekillon,  can  be  considered  in  no  other  light,  than  as  a 
punishment  inflicted  for  their  great  offences ;  and  was 
certainly  right  and  proper.  Hot  so  with  the  deliberate 
murder  of  the  chief,  engaged  in  negotiation  with  Col. 
Broadhead.  He  had  come  over  under  the  implied  assur¬ 
ance  of  the  security,  due  to  a  messenger  for  peace,  and 
after  a  positive  promise  of  protection  had  been  given  him 
by  the  commander  of  the  army. — His  death  can,  conse¬ 
quently,  only  be  considered  as  an  unwarrantable  murder; 
provoked  indeed,  by  the  barbarous  and  bloody  conduct  of 
the  savages.  These,  though  they  do  not  justify,  should 
certainly  extenuate  the  offence. 

The  fact,  that  the  enemy,  with  whom  they  were  con¬ 
tending,  did  not  observe  the  rules  of  war,  and  was  occa¬ 
sionally,  guilty  of  the  crime,  of  putting  their  prisoners  to 
death,  would  certainly  authorize  the  practice  of  greater 
rigor,  than  should  be  exercised  towards  those  who  do  not 
commit  such  excesses.  This  extraordinary  severity,  of  it¬ 
self,  tends  to  beget  a  greater  regard  for  what  is  allowable 
among  civilized  men,  and  to  produce  conformity  wflth  those 
usages  of  war,  which  were  suggested  by  humanity,  and 
are  sanctioned  by  all.  But  the  attainment  of  this  object, 
if  it  were  the  motive  which  prompted  to  the  deed,  can  not 
justify  the  murder  of  the  prisoners,  placed  [222]  under 
the  safe  keeping  of  the  militia.  It  evinced  a  total  disre¬ 
gard  of  the  authority  of  their  superior  officer.  He  had 
assured  them  they  should  only  be  detained  as  prisoners, 
and  remain  free  from  farther  molestation;  and  nothing, 
but  the  commission  of  some  fresh  offence,  could  sanction 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


305 


the  enormity.  But,  however  sober  reflection  may  con¬ 
demn  those  acts  as  outrages  of  propriety,  yet  so  many  and 
so  great,  were  the  barbarous  excesses  committed  by  the 
savages  upon  the  whites  in  their  power,  that  the  minds  of 
those  who  were  actors  in  those  scenes,  were  deprived  of 
the  faculty  of  discriminating  between  what  was  right  or 
wrong  to  be  practised  towards  them.  And  if  acts,  savour¬ 
ing  of  sheer  revenge,  were  done  by  them,  they  should  be 
regarded  as  but  the  ebullitions  of  men,  under  the  excite¬ 
ment  of  great  and  damning  wrongs,  and  which,  in  their 
dispassionate  moments,  they  would  condemn,  even  in 
themselves. 

When,  upon  the  arrival  of  Hinkston  at  Lexington, 
the  people  became  acquainted  with  the  mischief  which  had 
been  wrought  by  the  Canadian  and  Indian  army,1  every 
bosom  burned  with  a  desire  to  avenge  those  outrages,  and 
to  retort  them  on  their  authors.  Runners  were  despatched 
in  every  direction,  with  the  intelligence,  and  the  cry  for 
retribution,  arose  in  all  the  settlements.  In  this  state  of 
feeling,  every  eye  was  involuntarily  turned  towards  Gen. 
Clarke  as  the  one  who  should  lead  them  forth  to  battle  ; 
and  every  ear  was  opened,  to  receive  his  counsel.  He  ad¬ 
vised  a  levy  of  four-fifths  of  the  male  inhabitants,  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  and  that  they  should  speedily  assemble 
at  the  mouth  of  Licking,  and  proceed  from  thence  to  Chil- 
icothe.  He  ordered  the  building  of  a  number  of  trans¬ 
port  boats,  and  directed  such  other  preparations  to  be 
made,  as  would  facilitate  the  expedition,  and  ensure  suc¬ 
cess  to  its  object.  When  all  was  ready,  the  boats  with  the 
provisions  and  stores  on  board,  were  ordered  up  the  Ohio, 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Slaughter. 

In  ascending  the  river,  such  was  the  rapidity  of  the 
current,  that  the  boats  were  compelled  to  keep  near  to  the 
banks,  and  were  worked  up,  in  two  divisions — one  near 
each  shore.  While  thus  forcing  their  way  slowly  up  the 

1  Withers  here  reverts  to  the  Bird  invasion  in  the  summer  of  1780, 
and  the  escape  of  Hinkstone  from  his  British  captors,  related  ante,  pp. 
295-98.  Clark’s  retaliatory  expedition  was  made  during  August,  1780. — 
R.  G.  T. 


20 


306 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


stream,  one  of  the  boats,  being  some  distance  in  advance 
of  the  others  and  close  under  the  northwestern  bank,  was 
tired  into  by  a  party  of  Indians.  The  fire  was  promptly 
returned ;  but  before  the  other  boats  could  draw  nigh  to 
her  aid,  a  number  of  those  on  [223]  board  of  her,  was 
killed  and  wounded.  As  soon  however,  as  they  approached 
and  opened  a  fire  upon  the  assailants,  the  savages  with¬ 
drew,  and  the  boats  proceeded  to  the  place  of  rendezvous, 
without  farther  interruption. 

On  the  second  of  August,  General  Clarke  took  up  the 
line  of  march  from  the  place  where  Cincinnati  now  stands, 
at  the  head  of  nine  hundred  and  seventy  men.  They  pro¬ 
ceeded  without  any  delay,  to  the  point  of  destination, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  sixth  of  the  month.  The  town 
was  abandoned,  and  many  of  the  houses  were  yet  burning, 
having  been  fired  on  the  preceding  day.  There  were  how¬ 
ever,  several  hundred  acres  of  luxuriant  corn  growing 
about  it,  every  stalk  of  which  was  cut  down  and  de¬ 
stroyed. 

The  army  then  moved  in  the  direction  of  the  Piqua 
Towns,  twelve  miles  farther,  and  with  a  view  to  lay  waste 
every  thing  around  it,  and  with  the  hope  of  meeting  there 
an  enemy,  with  whom  to  engage  in  battle;  but  before  they 
had  got  far,  a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  accompanied  with 
loud  thunder  and  high  winds,  forced  them  to  encamp. 
Every  care  which  could  be  taken  to  keep  the  guns  dry, 
was  found  to  be  of  no  avail,  and  General  Clarke,  with 
prudent  precaution,  had  them  all  fired  and  re-loaded — 
continuing  to  pursue  this  plan,  to  preserve  them  fit  for 
use,  whenever  occasion  required,  and  keeping  the  troops 
on  the  alert  and  prepared  to  repel  any  attack  which  might 
be  made  on  them — during  the  night. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day,  they  arrived  in  sight 
of  Piqua,  and  as  they  advanced  upon  the  town,  were  at¬ 
tacked  by  the  Indians  concealed  in  the  high  weeds  which 
grew  around.  Colonel  Logan,  with  four  hundred  men, 
was  ordered  to  file  off, — march  up  the  river  to  the  east, 
and  occupy  a  position  from  which  to  intercept  the  sav¬ 
ages,  should  they  attempt  to  fly  in  that  direction.  Another 
division  of  the  army  was  in  like  manner  posted  on  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


307 


opposite  side  of  the  river,  while  General  Clarke  with  the 
troops  under  Colonel  Slaughter  and  those  attached  to 
the  artillery,  was  to  advance  directly  upon  the  town.  The 
Indians  seemed  to  comprehend  every  motion  of  the  army, 
and  evinced  the  skill  of  tacticians  in  endeavoring  to  thwart 
its  purpose.  To  prevent  being  surrounded  by  the  advance 
of  the  detachment  from  the  west,  they  made  a  powerful 
effort  to  turn  the  left  wing.  Colonel  Floyd  extended  his 
line  some  distance  west  of  the  town,  and  the  engagement 
became  general.  Both  armies  fought  with  determined 
[224]  resolution,  and  the  contest  was  warm  and  animated 
for  some  time.  The  Indians,  finding  that  their  enemy  was 
gaining  on  them  retired  unperceived,  through  the  prairie, 
a  few  only  remaining  in  the  town.  The  piece  of  cannon 
was  then  bro’t  to  bear  upon  the  houses,  into  which  some 
of  the  savages  had  retired  to  annoy  the  army  as  it  marched 
upon  the  village. — They  were  soon  dislodged  and  fled. 

On  reaching  the  houses,  a  Frenchman  was  discovered 
concealed  in  one  of  them.  From  him  it  was  learned,  that 
the  Indians  had  been  apprized  of  the  intention  of  Gen. 
Clarke  to  march  against  Chilicothe  and  other  towns  in 
its  vicinity,  by  one  of  Col.  Logan’s  men,  who  had  deserted 
from  the  army  while  at  the  mouth  of  Licking,  and  was 
supposed  to  have  fled  to  Carolina,  as  he  took  with  him  the 
horse  furnished  him  for  the  expedition.  Instead  of  this 
however,  he  went  over  to  the  enemy,  and  his  treason, 

- “  Like  a  deadly  blight, 

Came  o’er  the  councils  of  the  brave, 

And  damped  them  in  their  hour  of  might.” 

Thus  forwarned  of  the  danger  which  threatened  them, 
they  were  enabled  in  a  considerable  degree  to  avoid  it,  and 
watching  all  the  movements  of  the  army,  were  on  the  eve 
of  attacking  it  silently,  with  tomahawks  and  knives,  on 
the  night  of  its  encamping  between  Chilicothe  and  Piqua. 
The  shooting  of  the  guns,  convincing  them  that  they  had 
not  been  rendered  useless  by  the  rain,  alone  deterred  them 
from  executing  this  determination. 

Notwithstanding  that  the  victory  obtained  by  Gen. 
Clarke,  was  complete  and  decided,  yet  the  army  under  his 


30S 


Withers's  Chronicles 


command  sustained  a  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  as 
great  as  was  occasioned  to  the  enemy.  This  circum¬ 
stance  was  attributable  to  the  sudden  and  unexpected  at¬ 
tack  made  on  it,  by  the  Indians,  while  entirely  concealed,, 
and  partially  sheltered.  No  men  could  have  evinced  more 
dauntless  intrepidity  and  determined  fortitude  than  was 
displayed  by  them,  when  fired  upon  by  a  hidden  foe,  and 
their  comrades  were  falling  around  them.  When  the 
“  combat  thickened,”  such  was  their  noble  daring,  that 
Girty,  (who  had  been  made  chief  among  the  Mingoes,)  re¬ 
marking  the  desperation  with  which  they  exposed  them¬ 
selves  to  the  hottest  of  the  fire,  drew  off  his  three  hundred 
warriors ;  observing,  that  it  was  useless  to  fight  with 
fools  and  madmen.  The  loss  in  killed  under  the  peculiar 
[225]  circumstances,  attending  the  commencement  of  the 
action,  was  less  than  would  perhaps  be  expected  to  befall 
an  army  similarly  situated  ; — amounting  in  all  to  only 
twenty  men. 

Here,  as  at  Chilicothe,  the  crops  of  corn  and  every 
article  of  subsistence  on  which  the  troops  could  lay  their 
hands,  were  entirely  laid  waste.  At  the  two  places,  it  waa 
estimated  that  not  less  than  five  hundred  acres  of  that  in¬ 
dispensable  article,  were  entirely  destroyed.1 

An  unfortunate  circumstance,  occurring  towards  the 
close  of  the  engagement,  damped  considerably  the  joy 
which  would  otherwise  have  pervaded  the  army.  A 
nephew  of  Gen.  Clarke,  who  had  been  taken,  and  for 
some  time  detained,  a  prisoner  by  the  savages,  was  at 
Piqua  during  the  action.  While  the  battle  continued,  he 
was  too  closely  guarded  to  escape  to  the  whites;  but  upon 
the  dispersion  of  the  savages  which  ensued  upon  the  can¬ 
nonading  of  the  houses  into  which  some  of  them  had  re¬ 
treated,  he  was  left  more  at  liberty.  Availing  himself  of 
this  change  of  situation,  he  sought  to  join  his  friends.  He 
was  quickly  discovered  by  some  of  them,  and  mistaken  for 

1  Butterfield,  in  History  of  the  Girtys,  p.  121,  places  the  white  loss  at 
seventeen  killed,  and  “  a  number  wounded and  the  Indian  loss  at  six 
killed  and  three  wounded.  Clark’s  nephew,  Joseph  Rogers,  was  killed 
on  August  8,  the  day  of  the  general  engagement.  Clark  left  Piqua, 
the  10th.— R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


309 


an  Indian.  The  mistake  was  fatal.  He  received  a  shot 
discharged  at  him,  and  died  in  a  few  hours. 

Notwithstanding  the  success  of  the  expeditions  com¬ 
manded  by  Col.  Broadhead  and  Gen.  Clarke,  and  the  de¬ 
struction  which  took  place  on  the  Alleghany,  at  Coshocton, 
Chilicothe  andPiqua,  yet  the  savages  continued  to  commit 
depredations  on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia.  The  winter,  as 
usual,  checked  them  for  awhile,  but  the  return  of  spring, 
brought  with  it,  the  horrors  which  mark  the  progress  of 
an  Indian  enemy.  In  Kentucky  and  in  North  Western 
Virginia,  it  is  true  that  the  inhabitants  did  not  suffer  much 
by  their  hostilities  in  1781,  as  in  the  preceding  years;  yet 
were  they  not  exempt  from  aggression. 

Early  in  March  a  party  of  Indians  invaded  the  settle¬ 
ments  on  the  upper  branches  of  Monongahela  river;  and 
on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  that  month,  came  to  the  house 
of  Capt.  John  Thomas,  near  Booth’s  creek.  Unapprehen¬ 
sive  of  danger,  with  his  wife  and  seven  children  around 
him,  and  with  thoughts  devotedly  turned  upon  the  reali¬ 
ties  of  another  world,  this  gentleman  was  engaging  in  his 
accustomed  devotions  when  the  savages  approached  his 
door;  and  as  he  was  repeating  the  first  lines  of  the  hymn, 
“  Go  worship  at  Emanuel’s  feet,”  a  gun  was  fired  at  him, 
and  he  fell.  The  Indians  [226]  immediately  forced  open 
the  door,  and,  entering  the  house,  commenced  the  dread¬ 
ful  work  of  death.  Mrs.  Thomas  raised  her  hands  and 
implored  their  mercy  for  herself  and  her  dear  children.  It 
was  in  vain.  The  tomahawk  was  uplifted,  and  stoke  fol¬ 
lowed  stroke  in  quick  succession,  till  the  mother  and  six 
■children  lay  weltering  in  blood,  by  the  side  of  her  husband 
and  their  father — a  soul-chilling  spectacle  to  any  but  heart¬ 
less  savages.  When  all  were  down,  they  proceeded  to 
scalp  the  fallen,  and  plundering  the  -house  of  what  they 
could  readily  remove,  threw  the  other  things  into  the  fire 
and  departed — taking  with  them  one  little  boy  a  prisoner. 

Elizabeth  Juggins,  (the  daughter  of  John  Juggins  who 
had  been  murdered  in  that  neighborhood,  the  preceding 
year)  was  at  the  house  of  Capt.  Thomas,  when  the  Indians 
came  to  it;  but  as  soon  as  she  heard  the  report  of  the  gun 
and  saw  Capt.  Thomas  fall,  she  threw  herself  under  the 


310 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


bed,  and  escaped  the  observation  of  the  savages.  After 
they  had  completed  the  work  of  blood  and  left  the  house, 
fearing  that  they  might  be  lingering  near,  she  remained  in 
that  situation  until  she  observed  the  house  to  be  in  flames. 
When  she  crawled  forth  from  her  asylum,  Mrs.  Thomas 
was  still  alive,  though  unable  to  move;  and  casting  a  pity¬ 
ing  glance  towards  her  murdered  infant,  asked  that  it 
might  be  handed  to  her.  Upon  seeing  Miss  Juggins 
about  to  leave  the  house,  she  exclaimed,  “  Oh  Betsy !  do 
not  leave  us.”  Still  anxious  for  her  own  safety,  the  girl 
rushed  out,  and  taking  refuge  for  the  night  between  two 
logs,  in  the  morning  early  spread  the  alarm. 

When  the  scene  of  those  enormities  was  visited,  Mrs. 
Thomas  was  found  in  the  yard,  much  mangled  by  the 
tomahawk  and  considerably  torn  by  hogs — she  had,  per¬ 
haps  in  the  struggle  of  death,  thrown  herself  out  at  the 
door.  The  house,  together  with  Capt.  Thomas  and  the 
children,  was  a  heap  of  ashes.1 

In  April,  Matthias,  Simon  and  Michael  Schoolcraft, 
left  Buchannon  fort,  and  went  to  the  head  of  Stone  coal 
creek  for  the  purpose  of  catching  pigeons.  On  their  re¬ 
turn,  they  were  fired  upon  by  Indians,  and  Matthias  killed 
— the  other  two  were  taken  captive.  These  were  the  last 
of  the  Schoolcraft  family, — fifteen  of  them  were  killed  or 
taken  prisoners  in  the  space  of  a  few  years.  Of  those  who 
were  carried  into  captivity,  none  ever  returned.  They 
were  believed  to  have  consociated  with  the  savages,  and 
from  the  report  of  others  [227]  who  were  prisoners  to  the 
Indians,  three  of  them  used  to  accompany  war  parties,  in 
their  incursions  into  the  settlements. 

In  the  same  month,  as  some  men  were  returning  to 
Cheat  river  from  Clarksburg,  (where  they  had  been  to  ob- 

1  I  am  informed  by  S.  R.  Harrison,  of  Clarksburg,  W.  Va.,  that  the 
bodies  of  the  victims  were  buried  about  five  rods  from  the  house,  and 
“  the  graves  are  yet  marked  by  the  original  rude  stones.”  Mr.  Harrison 
continues,  “  This  burial  ground,  and  also  where  the  house  stood,  had 
never  been  disturbed  until  March,  1888 — a  hundred  and  seven  years, 
after  the  massacre — when  the  ground  about  the  site  of  the  house  was 
plowed  ;  many  interesting  relics  were  turned  up,  among  them  a  com¬ 
pass  and  sun-dial  in  a  copper  case.  I  myself  found  a  number  of  relics, 
among  the  charred  ruins  of  the  house.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


311 


tain  certificates  of  settlement-rights  to  their  lands,  from 
the  commissioners  appointed  to  adjust  land  claims  in  the 
counties  of  Ohio,  Youghiogany  and  Monongalia)  they, 
after  having  crossed  the  Valley  river,  were  encountered  by 
a  large  party  of  Indians,  and  John  Manear,  Daniel  Cam¬ 
eron  and  a  Mr.  Cooper  were  killed, — the  others  effected 
their  escape  with  difficulty. 

The  savages  then  moved  on  towards  Cheat,  but  meet¬ 
ing  with  James  Brown  and  Stephen  Radcliff,  and  not  being 
able  to  kill  or  take  them,  they  changed  their  course,  and 
passing  over  Leading  creek,  (in  Tygarts  Valley)  nearly 
destroyed  the  whole  settlement.  They  there  killed  Alex¬ 
ander  Roney,  Mrs.  Dougherty,  Mrs.  Ilornbeck  and  her 
children,  Mrs.  Buffington  and  her  children,  and  many 
others;  and  made  prisoners,  Mrs.  Roney  and  her  son,  and 
Daniel  Dougherty.  Jonathan  Buffington  and  Benjamin 
Ilornbeck  succeeded  in  making  their  escape  and  carried 
the  doleful  tidings  to  Friend's  and  Wilson’s  forts.  Col. 
Wilson  immediately  raised  a  company  of  men  and  pro¬ 
ceeding  to  Leading  creek,  found  the  settlement  without 
inhabitants,  and  the  houses  nearly  all  burned.  lie  then 
pursued  after  the  savages,  but  not  coming  up  with  them  as 
soon  as  was  expected,  the  men  became  fearful  of  the  con¬ 
sequences  which  might  result  to  their  own  families,  by 
reason  of  this  abstraction  of  their  defence,  provided  other 
Indians  were  to  attack  them,  and  insisted  on  their  return¬ 
ing.  On  the  second  day  of  the  pursuit,  it  was  agreed  that 
a  majority  of  the  company  should  decide  whether  they 
were  to  proceeded  farther  or  not.  Joseph  Friend,  Richard 
Kettle,  Alexander  West  and  Col.  Wilson,  were  the  only 
persons  in  favor  of  going  on,  and  they  consequently  had 
to  return. 

But  though  the  pursuit  was  thus  abandoned,  yet  did 
not  the  savages  get  off  with  their  wonted  impunity.  When 
the  land  claimants,  who  had  been  the  first  to  encounter 
this  party  of  Indians  escaped  from  them,  they  fled  back 
to  Clarksburg,  and  gave  the  alarm.  This  was  quickly 
communicated  to  the  other  settlements,  and  spies  were 
sent  out,  to  watch  for  the  enemy.  By  some  of  these,  the 
savages  were  discovered  on  the  West  Fork,  near  the  mouth 


312 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


of  Isaac’s  creek,  and  intelligence  of  it  immediately  carried 
to  the  forts.  Col.  Lowther  [228]  collected  a  company  of 
men,  and  going  in  pursuit,  came  in  view  of  their  en¬ 
campment,  awhile  before  night,  on  a  branch  of  Hughes’ 
river,  ever  since  known  as  Indian  creek.  Jesse  and  Elias 
Hughs — active,  intrepid  and  vigilant  men — were  left  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  savages,  while  the  remainder 
retired  a  small  distance  to  refresh  themselves,  and  prepare 
to  attack  them  in  the  morning. 

Before  day  Col.  Lowther  arranged  his  men  in  order 
of  attack,  and  when  it  became  light,  on  the  preconcerted 
signal  being  given,  a  general  tire  was  poured  in  upon  them. 
Five  of  the  savages  fell  dead  and  the  others  fled  leaving 
at  their  fires,  all  their  shot  bags  and  plunder,  and  all  their 
guns,  except  one.  Upon  going  to  their  camp,  it  was  found 
that  one  of  the  prisoners  (a  son  of  Alexander  Bony  who 
had  been  killed  in  the  Leading  creek  massacre)  was  among 
the  slain.  Every  care  had  been  taken  to  guard  against 
such  an  occurrence,  and  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  cap¬ 
tives  who  sustained  any  injury  from  the  fire  of  the  whites.* 1 

In  consequence  of  information  received  from  the 
prisoners  who  were  retaken  (that  a  larger  party  of  In¬ 
dians  was  expected  hourly  to  come  up,)  Col.  Lowther 

[228]  *As  Boon  as  the  fire  was  opened  upon  the  Indians,  Mrs.  Rony 
(one  of  the  prisoners)  ran  towards  the  whites  rejoicing  at  the  prospect 
of  deliverance,  and  exclaiming,  “  I  ain  Ellick  Rony’s  wife,  of  the  Valley, 

I  am  Ellick  Rony’s  wife,  of  the  Valley,  and  a  pretty  little  woman  too, 
if  I  was  wTell  dressed.”  The  poor  woman,  ignorant  of  the  fact  that 
her  son  was  wTeltering  in  his  own  gore,  and  forgetting  for  an  instant  that 
her  husband  had  been  so  recently  killed,  seemed  intent  only  on  her  own 
deliverance  from  the  savage  captors. 

Another  of  the  captives,  Daniel  Dougherty,  being  tied  down,  and 
unable  to  move,  was  discovered  by  the  whites  as  they  rushed  towards 
the  camp.  Fearing  that  he  might  be  one  of  the  enemy  and  do  them 
some  injury  if  they  advanced,  one  of  the  men,  stopping,  demanded  who 
he  was.  Benumbed  wTith  cold,  and  discomposed  by  the  sudden  firing 
of  the  whites,  he  could  not  render  his  Irish  dialect  intelligible  to  them. 
The  white  man  raised  his  gun  and  directed  it  towards  him,  calling 
aloud,  that  if  he  did  not  make  known  who  he  was,  he  should  blow  a 
ball  through  him,  let  him  be  white  man  or  Indian.  Fear  supplying  him 
with  energy,  Dougherty  exclaimed,  “  Loord  Jasus !  and  am  I  too  be 
killed  by  white  people  at  last !”  He  was  heard  by  Col.  Lowther  and  his 
life  saved. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


313 


deemed  it  prudent  not  to  go  in  pursuit  of  those  who  had 
lied,  and  collecting  the  plunder  which  the  savages  had  left, 
catching  the  horses  which  [229]  they  had  stolen,  and  hav¬ 
ing  buried  young  Rony,  the  party  set  out  on  its  return 
and  marched  home — highly  gratified  at  the  success  which 
had  crowned  their  exertions  to  punish  their  untiring  foe. 

Some  short  time  after  this,  John  Jackson  and  his  son 
George,  returning  to  Buchannon  fort,  were  fired  at  by 
some  Indians,  but  fortunately  missed.  George  Jackson 
having  his  gun  in  his  hand,  discharged  it  at  a  savage  peep¬ 
ing  from  behind  a  tree,  without  effect;  and  they  then  rode 
off'  with  the  utmost  speed. 

At  the  usual  period  of  leaving  the  forts  and  returning 
to  their  farms,  the  inhabitants  withdrew  from  Buchannon 
and  went  to  their  respective  homes.  Soon  after,  a  party 
of  savages  came  to  the  house  of  Charles  Furrenash,  and 
made  prisoners  of  Mrs.  Furrenash  and  her  four  children, 
and  despoiled  their  dwelling.  Mrs.  Furrenash,  being  a 
delicate  and  weakly  woman,  and  unable  to  endure  the 
fatigue  of  travelling  far  on  foot,  was  murdered  on 
Hughes’  river.  Three  of  the  children  were  afterwards 
redeemed  and  came  back, — the  fourth  wras  never  more 
beard  of.  In  a  few  days  after,  the  husband  and  father 
returned  from  Winchester  (where  he  had  been  for  salt) 
and  instead  of  the  welcome  greeting  of  an  affectionate 
wife,  and  the  pleasing  prattle  of  his  innocent  children,  was 
saluted  wfith  the  melancholy  intelligence  of  their  fate.  It 
was  enough  to  make  him  curse  the  authors  of  the  outrage, 
and  swear  eternal  enmity  to  the  savage  race. 

The  early  period  in  spring  at  which  irruptions  were 
frequently  made  by  the  savages  upon  the  frontier,  had  in¬ 
duced  a  belief,  that  if  the  Moravian  Indians  did  not  par¬ 
ticipate  in  the  bloody  deeds  of  their  red  brethern,  yet  that 
they  afforded  to  them  shelter  and  protection  from  the  in¬ 
clemency  of  winter,  and  thus  enabled  them,  by  their 
greater  proximity  to  the  white  settlements,  to  commence 
depredations  earlier  than  they  otherwise  could.  The  con¬ 
sequence  of  this  belief  was,  the  engendering  in  the  minds 
of  many,  a  spirit  of  hostility  towards  those  Indians;  occa¬ 
sionally  threatening  a  serious  result  to  them.  Reports 


314 


Withers's  Chronicles 


too,  were  in  circulation,  proceeding  from  restored  captives, 
at  war  with  the  general  pacific  profession  of  the  Moravi¬ 
ans,  and  which,  whether  true  or  false,  served  to  heighten 
the  acrimony  of  feeling  towards  them,  until  the  militia  of 
a  portion  of  the  frontier  came  to  the  determination  of 
breaking  up  the  villages  on  the  Muskingum.1  To  [230] 
carry  this  determination  into  effect,  a  body  of  troops,  com¬ 
manded  by  Col.  David  Williamson,  set  out  for  those  towns, 

1  The  Moravian  Indians  were  originally  from  the  Susquehanna 
Kiver.  They  moved  to  the  Tuscarawas  River  in  1772,  under  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  Zeisberger  and  Hecke welder,  who  built  two  villages  on  the  east¬ 
ern  bank  of  that  river,  on  land  set  apart  for  them  by  the  Delawares :  Schon- 
brunn,  about  three  miles  south-east  of  the  present  New  Philadelphia,  in 
what  is  now  Goshen  township,  Tuscarawas  County,  O.,  and  Gnaden- 
hiitten,  lower  down,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  present  town  of  that  name, 
in  Clay  township.  The  principal  Delaware  town,  at  that  time,  was  some 
distance  below,  near  the  site  of  the  present  Newcomerstown  ;  this  was 
later  moved  to  what  is  now  Coshocton,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Tusca¬ 
rawas  and  Walholding,  which  unite  to  form  the  Muskingum.  At  this 
time  there  was  a  Moravian  village  called  Friedensstadt,  on  Beaver 
River,  in  what  is  now  Lawrence  County,  Pa.  In  1776  a  new  village  for 
the  accommodation  of  converts  was  established  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Muskingum,  two  and  a  half  miles  below  Coshocton,  and  called  Lich- 
tenau ;  William  Edwards  was  the  missionary  in  charge.  In  consequence 
ot  the  disturbances  on  the  border,  Schonbrunn  and  Gnadenhutten  were 
deserted  in  1777,  and  all  the  teachers  returned  to  Pennsylvania  save 
Zeisberger  and  Edwards,  who  gathered  the  Indians  together  at  Lich- 
tenau  ;  but  in  the  spring  of  1778,  Gnadenhutten  was  re-occupied,  with 
Edwards  in  charge.  This  was  not  for  a  long  time,  however,  for  in  July 
we  find  Zeisberger,  Heckewelder,  and  Edwards  in  charge  of  the  union 
station  at  Lichtenau,  the  others  being  deserted.  The  spring  of  1779  finds 
Edwards  again  at  the  resuscitated  Gnadenhutten,  Zeisberger  re-occupying 
Schonbrunn  with  a  small  party,  and  Heckewelder  at  Lichtenau.  Later 
in  the  season  Zeisberger  began  New  Schonbrunn  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Tuscarawas,  in  what  is  now  Goshen  township,  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  present  Lockport,  and  a  mile  and  a  quarter  south  of  New 
Philadelphia  ;  thither  he  removed  his  flock  in  December.  In  the  spring 
of  1780,  Heckewelder  abandoned  Lichtenau,  and  took  his  converts  to 
the  west  bank  of  the  Tuscarawas,  where  he  established  Salem,  in  the 
present  Salem  township,  a  mile  and  a  half  north-west  of  Port  Washing¬ 
ton.  In  the  autumn  the  Moravian  villages  were  in  general  charge  of 
Zeisberger,  who  traveled  from  one  to  the  other ;  Gottlob  Senseman  being 
in  charge  of  New  Schonbrunn,  Edwards  of  Gnadenhutten,  and  Hecke¬ 
welder  of  Salem.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  at  the  time  of  the  massacre, 
the  Moravian  villages  were  wholly  in  the  valley  of  the  Tuscarawas. — 
R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


315 


in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1781.  Hot  deeming  it  nec¬ 
essary  to  use  the  fire  and  sword,  to  accomplish  the  desired 
object,  Col.  Williamson  resolved  on  endeavoring  to  prevail 
on  them  to  move  farther  off;  and  if  he  failed  in  this,  to 
make  prisoners  of  them  all,  and  take  them  to  Fort  Pitt. 
Upon  his  arrival  at  their  towns,  they  were  found  to  be 
nearly  deserted,  a  few  Indians  only,  remaining  in  them. 
These  were  made  prisoners  and  taken  to  Fort  Pitt ;  but 
were  soon  liberated. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  at  the  time  the  whites 
were  planning  the  destruction  of  the  Moravian  villages, 
because  of  their  supposed  co-operation  with  the  hostile 
savages,  the  inhabitants  of  those  villages  were  suffering 
severely  from  the  ill  treatment  of  those  very  savages,  be¬ 
cause  of  their  supposed  attachment  to  the  whites.  By  the 
one  party,  they  were  charged  with  affording  to  Indian  war 
parties,  a  resting  place  and  shelter,  and  furnishing  them 
with  provisions.  By  the  other,  they  were  accused  of  ap¬ 
prizing  the  whites  of  meditated  incursions  into  the  coun¬ 
try,  and  thus  defeating  their  purpose,  or  lessening  the 
chance  of  success ;  and  of  being  instrumental  in  prevent¬ 
ing  the  Delawares  from  entering  in  the  war  which  they 
were  waging.  Both  charges  were  probably,  well  founded, 
and  the  Moravian  Indians  yet  culpable  in  neither.1 

Their  villages  were  situated  nearly  midway  between 
the  frontier  establishments  of  the  whites,  and  the  towns 
of  the  belligerent  Indians,  and  were  consequently,  con¬ 
venient  resting  places  for  warriors  proceeding  to  and  from 
the  settlements.  That  they  should  have  permitted  war 
parties  after  ravages  to  refresh  themselves  there,  or  even 
have  supplied  them  with  provisions,  does  not  argue  a  dis¬ 
position  to  aid  or  encourage  their  hostile  operations.  It 
was  at  any  time  in  the  power  of  those  warring  savages,  to 

1  Zeisberger  and  Heckewelder  kept  Brodhead  continually  informed, 
by  letters,  of  the  movements  and  councils  of  the  hostiles.  The  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  missionaries  was  one  of  exceeding  delicacy,  but  the  volumi¬ 
nous  correspondence  between  them  and  Brodhead  proves  that  the 
former  were  steadfast  friends  of  the  American  colonies,  and  did  effective 
service  throughout  the  several  years  of  disturbance  on  the  frontier.— 
R.  G.  T. 


316 


Withers's  Chronicles 


exact  by  force  whatever  was  required  of  the  Moravian  In¬ 
dians,  and  the  inclination  was  not  wanting,  to  do  this  or 
other  acts  of  still  greater  enormity.  That  the  warriors 
were  the  better  enabled  to  make  incursions  into  the  set¬ 
tlements,  and  effect  their  dreadful  objects  by  reason  of 
those  accommodations,  can  not  be  questioned ;  the  fault 
however,  lay  not  in  any  inimical  feeling  of  the  Christian 
Indians  towards  the  whites,  but  in  their  physical  inability 
to  withhold  whatever  mmht  be  demanded  of  them. 

O 

And  although  they  exerted  themselves  to  prevail  on 
other  [231]  tribes  to  forbear  from  hostilities  against  the 
whites,  and  apprised  the  latter  of  enterprizes  projected 
against  them,  yet  did  not  these  things  proceed  from  an 
unfriendly  disposition  towards  their  red  brethren.  They 
were  considerate  and  reflecting,  and  saw  that  the  savages 
must  ultimately  suffer,  by  engaging  in  a  war  against  the 
settlements;  wThile  their  pacific  and  Christian  principles, 
influenced  them  to  forewarn  the  whites  of  impending 
danger,  that  it  might  be  avoided,  and  the  effusion  of  blood 
be  prevented.  But  pure  and  commendable  as  were,  no 
doubt,  the  motives  which  governed  them,  in  their  inter¬ 
course  with  either  party,  yet  they  were  so  unfortunate  as 
to  excite  the  enmity  and  incur  the  resentment  of  both, 
and  eventually  were  made  to  suffer,  though  in  different 
degrees,  by  both. 

In  the  fall  of  1781,  the  settlements  of  the  Moravians 
were  almost  entirely  broken  up  by  upwards  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  warriors,  and  the  missionaries,  residing  among  them, 
after  having  been  robbed  of  almost  every  thing,  were  taken 
prisoners  and  carried  to  Detroit.  Here  they  were  detained 
until  the  governor  became  satisfied  that  they  were  guilt¬ 
less  of  any  offence  meriting  a  longer  confinement;  when 
they  were  released  &  permitted  to  return  to  their  beloved 
people.  The  Indians  were  left  to  shift  for  themselves  in 
the  Sandusky  plains  where  most  of  their  horses  and  cattle 
perished  from  famine.1 

1  Brodhead’s  successful  expedition  against  the  Coshocton  Indians, 
in  April,  1781,  led  to  preparations  for  a  retaliatory  foray.  Headed  by 
the  renegade  Capt.  Matthew  Elliott,  a  party  of  about  250  Indians, — 
mostly  Wyandots,  with  chiefs  Half  King,  Pipe,  Snip,  John  and  Thomas 


Of  Border  Warfare.  317 

Snake,  and  others— assembled  at  Gnadenhutten,  for  a  talk  with  the 
Moravian  teachers,  preparatory  to  an  expedition  against  Wheeling. 
They  arrived  August  17,  and  Zeisberger  at  once  secretly  sent  a  message 
of  warning  to  Ft.  Pitt,  which  threw  the  frontier  into  alarm,  and  caused 
the  garrison  at  Wheeling  to  be  fully  prepared  when  the  enemy  ap¬ 
peared.  A  boy  whom  the  Wyandots  captured  outside  of  Wheeling  told 
them  of  Zeisberger’s  warning,  and  when  the  unsuccessful  war  party 
returned  to  Gnadenhutten  (Sept.  2),  vengeance  was  wreaked  on  the 
Moravians.  The  town  was  sacked  that  day,  and  the  missionaries  were 
kept  as  prisoners  for  several  days.  Finally  they  were  released  (Sept.  6), 
on  promise  that  they  remove  their  converts  from  the  line  of  the  war¬ 
paths.  September  11,  the  Moravians  and  their  teachers  left  Salem  in  a 
body,  with  but  few  worldly  goods,  for  most  of  their  property  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  Wyandots.  They  proceeded  down  the  Tuscarawas  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Walhonding,  thence  up  the  latter  stream  and  Vernon 
River,  and  across  country  to  the  Sandusky,  where  they  arrived  October 
1,  and  erected  a  few  huts  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  about  two  and 
a-half  miles  above  the  present  Upper  Sandusky.  Fourteen  days  later, 
the  missionaries  were  summoned  to  appear  before  the  British  com¬ 
mandant  at  Detroit,  Major  De  Peyster.  Zeisberger,  Hecke welder,  Ed¬ 
wards,  and  Senseman  left  for  Detroit,  October  25.  De  Peyster  questioned 
them  closely,  and  finally  released  them  with  the  statement  that  he 
would  confer  with  them  later,  relative  to  their  final  abode.  They 
reached  the  Sandusky,  on  their  return,  November  22.  Meanwhile,  the 
winter  had  set  in  early ;  and  in  danger  of  starving,  a  party  of  the  Mora¬ 
vians  had  returned  to  the  Tuscarawas  to  gather  corn  in  the  abandoned 
fields;  while  there,  a  party  of  border  rangers  took  them  prisoners  and 
carried  them  to  Fort  Pitt.  Brig.-Gen.  William  Irvine,  then  in  com¬ 
mand,  treated  the  poor  converts  kindly,  and  allowed  them  to  go  in 
peace,  many  returning  to  their  old  villages  on  the  Tuscarawas,  to  com¬ 
plete  their  dismal  harvesting. — R.  G.  T. 


318 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[232]  CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  revengeful  feelings  which  had  been  engendered, 
by  inevitable  circumstances,  towards  the  Moravian  In¬ 
dians,  and  which  had  given  rise  to  the  expedition  of  1781, 
under  Col.  Williamson,  were  yet  more  deeply  radicated  by 
subsequent  events.  On  the  night  after  their  liberation 
from  Fort  Pitt,  the  family  of  a  Mr.  Monteur  were  all 
killed  or  taken  captive;  and  the  outrage,  occurring  so  im¬ 
mediately  after  they  were  set  at  liberty  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  where  they  were,  was  very  generally  attributed  to  them. 
An  irruption  was  made  too,  in  the  fall  of  1781,  into  the 
settlement  on  Buffalo  creek,  and  some  murders  committed 
and  prisoners  taken.  One  of  these,  escaping  from  cap¬ 
tivity  and  returning  soon  after,  declared  that  the  party 
committing  the  aggression,  was  headed  by  a  Moravian  war¬ 
rior. 

These  circumstances  operated  to  confirm  many  in  the 
belief,  that  those  Indians  were  secretly  inimical  to  the 
whites,  and  not  only  furnished  the  savages  with  provisions 
and  a  temporary  home,  but  likewise  engaged  personally  in 
the  war  of  extermination,  which  they  were  waging  against 
the  frontier.  Events  occurring  towards  the  close  of  winter, 
dispelled  all  doubt,  from  the  minds  of  those  who  had 
fondly  cherished  every  suggestion  which  militated  against 
the  professed,  and  generally  accredited,  neutrality  and  pa¬ 
cific  disposition  of  the  Moravians. 

On  the  8th  of  February  1782,  while  Henry  Fink  and 
his  son  John,  were  engaged  in  sledding  rails,  on  their  farm 
in  the  Buchannon  settlement,  several  guns  were  simultane¬ 
ously  discharged  at  them;  and  before  John  had  time  to 
reply  to  his  father’s  inquiry,  whether  he  were  hurt,  another 
gun  was  fired  and  he  fell  lifeless.  Having  unlinked  the 
chain  which  fastened  the  horse  to  the  sled,  the  old  man 
[233]  galloped  briskly  away.  He  reached  his  home  in 
safety,  and  immediately  moved  his  family  to  the  fort.  On 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


319 


the  next  day  the  lifeless  body  of  John,  was  brought  into 
the  fort. — The  first  shot  had  wounded  his  arm;  the  ball 
from  the  second  passed  through  his  heart,  &  he  was  after¬ 
wards  scalped. 

Near  the  latter  part  of  the  same  month,  some  Indians 
invaded  the  country  above  Wheeling,  and  succeeded  in 
killing  a  Mr.  Wallace,  and  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife 
and  five  children,  &  in  taking  John  Carpenter  a  prisoner. 
The  early  period  of  the  year  at  which  those  enormities 
were  perpetrated,  the  inclemency  of  the  winter  of  1781 — 2, 
and  the  distance  of  the  towns  of  hostile  Indians  from  the 
theatre  of  these  outrages,  caused  many  to  exclaim,  “the 
Moravians  have  certainly  done  this  deed.”  The  destruction 
of  their  villages  was  immediately  resolved,  and  prepara¬ 
tions  were  made  to  carry  this  determination  into  effect. 

There  were  then  in  the  North  Western  wilderness,  be¬ 
tween  three  and  four  hundred  of  the  Christian  Indians, 
and  who,  until  removed  by  the  Wyandots  and  whites  in 
1781,  as  before  mentioned,  had  resided  on  the  Muskingum 
in  the  villages  of  the  Guadenhutten,  Salem  and  Shoenbrun. 
The  society  of  which  they  were  members,  had  been  estab¬ 
lished  in  the  province  of  Pennsylvania  about  the  year 
1752,  and  in  a  short  time  became  distinguished  for 
the  good  order  and  deportment  of  its  members,  both  as 
men  and  as  Christians.  During  the  continuance  of  the 
French  war,  they  nobly  withstood  every  allurement  which 
was  practised  to  draw  them  within  its  vortex,  and  ex¬ 
pressed  their  strong  disapprobation  of  war  in  general ;  say¬ 
ing,  “  that  it  must  be  displeasing  to  that  Great  Being,  who 
made  men,  not  to  destroy  men,  but  to  love  and  assist  each 
other.”  In  1769  emigrants  from  their  villages  of  Frieden- 
shutten,  Wyalusing  and  Shesheequon  in  Pennsylvania,  be¬ 
gan  to  make  an  establishment  in  the  North  Western  wilder¬ 
ness,  and  in  a  few  years,  attained  a  considerable  degree  of 
prosperity,  their  towns  increased  rapidly  in  population, 
and  themselves,  under  the  teaching  of  pious  and  beneficent 
missionaries,  in  civilization  and  Christianity.  In  the  war 
of  1774,  their  tranquil  and  happy  hours  were  interrupted, 
by  reports  of  the  ill  intention  of  the  whites  along  the 


320 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


frontier,  towards  them,  and  by  frequent  acts  of  annoyance, 
committed  by  war  parties  of  the  savages. 

This  state  of  things  continued  with  but  little,  if  any, 
intermission,  occasionally  assuming  a  more  gloomy  and 
portentious  aspect,  until  the  final  destruction  of  their 
villages.  In  the  spring  of  1781,  the  principal  war  chief  of 
the  Delawares  apprised  the  missionaries  and  them,  of  the 
danger  which  threatened  them,  as  well  from  the  whites  as 
the  savages,  and  advised  them  to  remove  to  some  situation, 
where  they  would  be  exempt  from  molestation  by  either. 
Conscious  of  the  rectitude  of  their  conduct  as  regarded 
both,  and  unwilling  to  forsake  the  comforts  which  their 
industry  had  procured  for  them,  and  the  fields  rendered 
productive  by  their  labor,  they  disregarded  the  [234] 
friendly  monition,  and  continued  in  their  villages,  progress¬ 
ing  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  Redeemer  of  men, 
and  practising  the  virtues  inculcated  by  his  word. 

This  was  their  situation,  at  the  time  they  were  re¬ 
moved  to  Sandusky,  early  in  the  fall  of  1781.  When  their 
missionaries  and  principal  men  were  liberated  by  the  gov¬ 
ernor  of  Detroit,  they  obtained  leave  of  the  Wyandot 
chiefs  to  return  to  the  Muskingum  to  get  the  corn  which 
had  been  left  there,  to  prevent  the  actual  starvation  of 
their  families.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  them, 
principally  women  and  children  went  thither  for  this  pur¬ 
pose,  and  were  thus  engaged  when  the  second  expedition 
under  Col.  Williamson  proceeded  against  them. 

In  March  1782,  between  eighty  and  ninety  men  as¬ 
sembled  themselves  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  the  de¬ 
struction  of  the  Moravian  towns.1  If  they  then  had  in 

1  One  hundred  and  eighty-six  men,  mounted,  from  the  Monon- 
gahela  settlements.  Early  in  March,  1782,  they  assembled  under  David 
Williamson,  colonel  of  one  of  the  militia  battalions  of  Washington 
County,  Pa.,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Ohio,  a  few  miles  below  Steuben¬ 
ville.  The  water  wras  high,  the  weather  cold  and  stormy,  and  there 
were  no  boats  for  crossing  over  to  Mingo  Bottom.  Many  turned  back, 
but  about  two  hundred  succeeded  in  crossing.  The  expedition  was  not 
a  “  private  ”  affair,  but  was  regularly  authorized  by  the  military  authority 
of  Washington  County ;  its  destination  was  not  the  Moravian  settle¬ 
ments,  but  the  hostile  force,  then  supposed  to  be  on  the  Tuscarawas 
river.  It  seems  to  have  generally  been  understood  on  the  border  that 
the  Moravian  towns  were  now  deserted. — R.  G.  T. 


321 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

contemplation  the  achieving  of  any  other  injury  to  those 
people,  it  was  not  promulgated  in  the  settlements.  They 
avowed  their  object  to  be  the  destruction  of  the  houses 
and  the  laying  waste  the  crops,  in  order  to  deprive  the 
hostile  savages  of  the  advantage  of  obtaining  shelter  and 
provisions,  so  near  to  the  frontier ;  and  the  removal  of  the 
Moravians  to  Fort  Pitt,  to  preserve  them  from  the  personal 
injury  which,  it  was  feared,  would  be  indicted  on  them  by 
the  warriors.  Being  merely  a  private  expedition,  each  of 
the  men  took  with  him,  his  own  arms,  ammunition  and 
provisions;  and  many  of  them,  their  horses.  They  took 
up  the  line  of  march  from  the  Mingo  Bottom,  and  on  the 
second  night  thereafter,  encamped  within  one  mile  of  the 
village  of  Gnadenhutten ;  and  in  the  morning  proceeded 
towards  it,  in  the  order  of  attack  prescribed  by  a  council 
of  the  officers. 

The  village  being  built  upon  both  sides  of  the  river, 
and  the  scouts  having  discovered  and  reported  that  it  was 
occupied  on  both  sides,  one-half  the  men  were  ordered  to 
cross  over  and  bear  down  upon  the  town  on  the  western 
bank,  while  the  other  half  would  possess  themselves  of 
that  part  of  it  which  lay  on  the  eastern  shore.  Upon  the 
arrival  of  the  first  division  at  the  river,  no  boat  or  other 
small  craft  was  seen  in  which  they  could  be  transported 
across ;  and  they  were  for  a  time,  in  some  difficulty  how 
they  should  proceed.  What  appeared  to  be  a  canoe  was 
at  length  discovered  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Slaughter,  plunging  in  swam  to  it.  It 
proved  to  be  a  trough  for  containing  sugar  water,  and 
capable  of  bearing  only  two  persons  at  a  time.  To  obviate 
the  delay  which  must  have  resulted  from  this  tedious 
method  of  conveying  themselves  over,  many  of  the  men 
unclothed  themselves,  and  placing  their  garments,  arms 
and  ammunition  in  the  trough,  swam  by  its  sides,  not¬ 
withstanding  that  ice  was  floating  in  the  current  and  the 
water,  consequently,  cold  and  chilling. 

When  nearly  half  this  division  had  thus  reached  the 
western  bank,  two  sentinels,  who  on  the  first  landing  had 
been  stationed  a  short  distance  in  advance,  discovered  and 
21 


322 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


fired  at,  one  of  the  Indians.  [235]  The  shot  of  one  broke 
his  arm, — the  other  killed  him.  Directions  were  then  sent 
to  the  division  which  was  to  operate  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  river,  to  move  directly  to  the  attack,  lest  the  firing 
should  alarm  the  inhabitants  and  they  defeat  the  object 
which  seemed  now  to  be  had  in  view.  The  few  who  had 
crossed  without  awaiting  for  the  others,  marched  imme¬ 
diately  into  the  town  on  the  western  shore. 

Arrived  among  the  Indians,  they  offered  no  violence, 
but  on  the  contrary,  professing  peace  and  good  will,  as¬ 
sured  them,  they  had  come  for  the  purpose  of  escorting 
them  safely  to  Fort  Pitt,  that  they  might  no  longer  be  ex¬ 
posed  to  molestation  from  the  militia  of  the  whites,  or  the 
warriors  of  the  savages.  Sick  of  the  sufferings  which  they 
had  so  recently  endured,  and  rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of 
being  delivered  from  farther  annoyance  they  gave  up  their 
arms,  and  with  alacrity  commenced  making  preparations 
for  the  journey,  providing  food  as  well  for  the  whites,  as 
for  themselves.  A  party  of  whites  and  Indians  was  next 
despatched  to  Salem,  to  bring  in  those  who  were  there. 
They  then  shut  up  the  Moravians  left  at  Gnadenhutten,  in 
two  houses  some  distance  apart,  and  had  them  well  guarded, 
"When  the  others  arrived  from  Salem,  they  were  treated  in 
like  manner,  and  shut  up  in  the  same  houses  with  their 
brethren  of  Gnadenhutten. 

The  division  which  was  to  move  into  the  town  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river,  coming  unexpectedly  upon  one 
of  the  Indian  women,  she  endeavored  to  conceal  herself  in 
a  bunch  of  bushes  at  the  water  edge,  but  being  discovered, 
by  some  of  the  men,  was  quickly  killed.  She  was  the 
wife  of  Shabosh,  who  had  been  shot  by  the  sentinels 
of  the  other  division.  Others,  alarmed  at  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  a  party  of  armed  men,  and  ignorant  that  a  like 
force  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  attempted  to 
escape  thither. — They  did  not  live  to  effect  their  object. 
Three  were  killed  in  the  attempt;  and  the  men  then 
crossed  over,  with  such  as  they  had  made  prisoners,  to 
join  their  comrades,  in  the  western  and  main  part  of  the 
town. 

A  council  of  war  was  then  held  to  determine  on  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


323 


fate  of  the  prisoners.  Col.  Williamson  having  been  much 
censured  for  the  lenity  of  his  conduct  towards  those  In¬ 
dians  in  the  expedition  of  the  preceding  year,  the  officers 
were  unwilling  to  take  upon  themseves  the  entire  responsi¬ 
bility  of  deciding  upon  their  fate  now,  and  agreed  that  it 
should  be  left  to  the  men.  The  line  was  soon  formed,  and 
they  were  told  it  remained  with  them  to  say,  whether  the 
Moravian  prisoners  should  be  taken  to  Fort  Pitt  or  mur¬ 
dered  ;  and  Col.  Williamson  requested  that  those  who  were 
inclined  to  mercy,  should  advance  and  form  a  second  link, 
that  it  might  be  seen  on  which  side  was  the  majority. 
Alas  !  it  required  no  scrutiny  to  determine.  Only  sixteen, 
or  at  most  eighteen  men,  stepped  forward  to  save  the  lives 
of  this  unfortunate  people,  and  their  doom  became  sealed.1 

From  the  moment  those  ill  fated  beings  were  im¬ 
mured  in  houses  they  seemed  to  anticipate  the  horrid  des¬ 
tiny  which  awaited  them ;  [236]  and  spent  their  time  in 
holy  and  heartfelt  devotion,  to  prepare  them  for  the  awful 
realities  of  another  world.  They  sang,  they  prayed,  they 
exhorted  each  other  to  a  firm  reliance  on  the  Saviour  of 
men,  and  soothed  those  in  affliction  with  the  comfortable 
assurance,  that  although  men  might  kill  the  body,  they 
had  no  power  over  the  soul,  and  that  they  might  again 
meet  in  a  better  and  happier  world,  “  where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  find  rest.”  When 
told  that  they  were  doomed  to  die,  they  all  affectionately 
embraced,  and  bedewing  their  bosoms  with  mutual  tears, 
reciprocally  sought,  and  obtained  forgiveness  for  any  of¬ 
fences  which  they  might  have  given  each  other  through 
life.  Thus  at  peace  with  God,  and  reconciled  with  one 
another,  they  replied  to  those,  who  impatient  for  the 
slaughter  had  asked  if  they  were  not  yet  prepared,  “  Yes ! 
We  have  commended  our  souls  to  God,  and  are  ready 
to  die.” 


1  Contemporary  accounts  speak  of  a  council  of  war,  held  in  the 
evening,  at  which  this  question  was  decided.  But  a  small  majority 
voted  for  the  butchery  ;  Williamson  himself  was  in  the  minority.  Dor¬ 
sey  Pentecost,  writing  from  Pittsburg,  May  8,  1782  (see  Penn.  Arch.,  ix., 
p.  540),  says:  “  I  have  heard  it  intimated  that  about  thirty  or  forty  only 
of  the  party  gave  their  consent  or  assisted  in  the  catastrophe.” — R.  G.  T, 


324 


Withers's  Chronicles 


What  must  have  been  the  obduracy  of  those,  who 
could  remain  inflexible  in  their  doom  of  death,  amid  such 
scenes  as  these  ?  How  ruthless  &  unrelenting  their  hearts,, 
who  unmoved  by  the  awful  spectacle  of  so  many  fellow 
creatures,  preparing  for  the  sudden  and  violent  destruction 
of  life  and  asking  of  their  God,  mercy  for  themselves  and 
forgiveness  for  their  enemies — could  yet  thirst  for  bloodr 
and  manifest  impatience  that  its  shedding  was  delayed  for 
an  instant?  Did  not  the  possibility  of  that  innocence, 
which  has  been  ever  since  so  universally  accorded  to  their 
victims,  once  occur  to  them ;  or  were  their  minds  so  under 
the  influence  of  exasperation  and  resentment,  that  they 
ceased  to  think  of  any  thing,  but  the  gratification  of  those 
feelings?  Had  they  been  about  to  avenge  the  murder  of 
friends  on  its  known  authors ,  somewhat  might  have  been 
pardoned  to  retaliation  and  to  vengeance ;  but  involving 
all  in  one  common  ruin,  for  the  supposed  offences  of  a  fewr 
there  can  be  no  apology  for  their  conduct, — no  excuse  for 
their  crime. 

It  were  well,  if  all  memory  of  the  tragedy  at  Gnad- 
enhutten,  were  effaced  from  the  mind;  but  it  yet  lives  in 
the  recollection  of  many  and  stands  recorded  on  the  pol¬ 
luted  page  of  history. — Impartial  truth  requires,  that  it 
should  be  here  set  down. 

A  few  of  the  prisoners,  supposed  to  have  been  act¬ 
ively  engaged  in  war,  were  the  first  to  experience  their 
doom.  They  were  tied  and  taken  some  distance  from  the 
houses  in  which  [237]  they  had  been  confined;  despatched 
with  spears  and  tomahawks,  and  scalped.  The  remainder 
of  both  sexes,  from  the  hoary  head  of  decrepitude,  incap¬ 
able  of  wrong,  to  helpless  infancy,  pillowed  on  its  mother’s 
breast,  were  cruelly  &  shockingly  murdered;  and  the 
different  apartments  of  those  houses  of  blood,  exhibited 
their  bleeding  bodies,  mangled  by  the  tomahawk,  scalping 
knife  and  spear,  and  disfigured  by  the  war-club  and  the 
mallet.1 


1  Lineback’s  Relation  [Penn.  Arch.,  ix.,  p.  525)  says:  “  In  the  morn¬ 
ing,  the  militia  chose  two  houses,  which  they  called  the  ‘  slaughter 
houses,’  and  then  brought  the  Indians  twTo  or  three  at  a  time,  writh  ropes 
about  their  necks,  and  dragged  them  into  the  slaughter  houses  where 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


325 


Thus  perished  ninety-six  of  the  Moravian  Indians. 
Of  these,  sixty-two  were  grown  persons,  one-third  of  whom 
were  women;  the  remaining  thirty-four  were  children.* 1 
Two  youth  alone,  made  their  escape.  One  of  them  had 
been  knocked  down  and  scalped,  but  was  not  killed.  He 
had  the  presence  of  mind  to  lie  still  among  the  dead,  until 
nightfall,  when  he  crept  silently  forth  and  escaped.  The 
other,  in  the  confusion  of  the  shocking  scene,  slipped 
through  a  trap  door  into  the  cellar,  and  passing  out  at  a 
small  window,  got  off*  unnoticed  and  uninjured. 

In  the  whole  of  this  transaction  the  Moravians  were 
passive  and  unresisting.  They  confided  in  the  assurances 
of  protection  given  them  by  the  whites,  and  until  pent  up 
in  the  houses,  continued  cheerful  and  happy.  If  when 
-convinced  of  the  murderous  intent  of  their  visitors,  they 
had  been  disposed  to  violence  and  opposition,  it  would  have 
availed  them  nothing.  They  had  surrendered  their  arms 
(being  requested  to  do  so,  as  a  guarantee  for  the  security 
of  the  whites,)  and  were  no  longer  capable  of  offering  any 
effectual  or  available  resistance,  and  while  the  dreadful 
work  of  death  was  doing,  “they  were  as  lambs  led  to  the 
slaughter ;  &  as  sheep  before  the  shearers  are  dumb,  so 
opened  they  not  their  mouths.”  There  was  but  a  solitary 
exception  to  this  passiveness,  and  it  was  well  nigh  termin¬ 
ating  in  the  escape  of  its  author,  and  in  the  death  of  some 
of  the  whites. 

As  two  of  the  men  were  leading  forth  one  of  the  sup¬ 
posed  warriors  to  death,  a  dispute  arose  between  them, 
who  should  have  the  scalp  of  this  victim  to  their  barbarity. 
He  was  progressing  after  them  with  a  silent  dancing  mo¬ 
tion,  and  singing  his  death  song.  Seeing  them  occupied 
so  closely  with  each  other,  he  became  emboldened  to  try 
an  escape.  Drawing  a  knife  from  its  scabbard,  he  cut  the 

they  knocked  them  down.”  This  accords  with  Heckewelder’s  Narrative, 
p.  320,  which  says  they  were  knocked  down  with  a  cooper’s  mallet. 
The  victims  included  those  converts  living  at  Salem,  who  had  peaceably 
come  in  to  Gnadenhiitten  with  their  captors;  but  those  at  New  Schon- 
brunn  had  taken  the  alarm  and  fled. — R.  G.  T. 

1  Later  authorities  put  the  total  number  at  ninety — twenty-nine 
men,  twenty-seven  women,  and  thirty-four  children. — R.  G.  T. 


326 


Withers's  Chronicles 


cord  which  bound  him ;  and  springing  forward,  aimed  a 
thrust  at  one  of  his  conductors.  The  cutting  of  the  rope 
had,  however,  drawn  it  so  [238]  tightly  that  he  wrho  held 
it  became  sensible  that  it  was  wrought  upon  in  some  way;, 
and  turning  quickly  round  to  ascertain  the  cause,  scarcely 
avoided  the  stab.  The  Indian  then  bounded  from  them,, 
and  as  he  fled  towards  the  woods,  dexterously  removed 
the  cord  from  his  wrists.  Several  shots  were  discharged 
at  him  without  effect,  when  the  firing  was  stopped,  lest  in 
the  hurry  and  confusion  of  the  pursuit,  some  of  their  own 
party  might  suffer  from  it.  A  young  man,  mounting  his 
horse,  was  soon  by  the  side  of  the  Indian,  and  springing 
off,  his  life  had  wTell  nigh  been  sacrificed  by  his  rashness. 
He  was  quickly  thrown  to  the  ground,  and  the  uplifted 
tomahawk  about  to  descend  on  his  head,  when  a  timely 
shot,  directed  wdth  fatal  precision,  took  effect  on  the  In¬ 
dian  and  saved  him. 

Had  the  Moravians  been  disposed  for  war,  they  could 
easily  have  ensured  their  own  safety,  and  dealt  destruction 
to  the  whites.  If,  when  their  town  was  entered  by  a  party 
of  only  sixteen,  their  thirty  men,  aided  by  the  youths  of 
the  village,  armed  and  equipped  as  all  were,  had  gone 
forth  in  battle  array,  they  could  have  soon  cut  off*  those 
few ;  and  by  stationing  some  gunners  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  have  prevented  the  landing  of  the  others  of  the  ex¬ 
pedition.  But  their  faith  in  the  sincerity  of  the  whites — 
their  love  of  peace  and  abhorrence  of  war,  forbade  it;  and 
the  confidence  of  those  who  first  rushed  into  the  town,  in 
these  feelings  and  dispositions  of  the  Indians,  no  doubt 
prompted  them  to  that  act  of  temerity,  while  an  un- 
fordable  stream  was  flowing  between  them  and  their  only 
support. 

During  the  massacre  at  Gnadenhutten,  a  detachment 
of  the  whites  was  ordered  to  Shoenbrun  to  secure  the  Mo¬ 
ravians  who  were  there.  Fortunately  however,  two  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  village  had  discovered  the  dead  body 
of  Shabosh  in  time  to  warn  their  brethren  of  danger,  and 
they  all  moved  rapidly  off.  When  the  detachment  arrived, 
nothing  was  left  for  them  hut  plunder. —  This  xoas  secured , 
and  they  returned  to  their  comrades.  Gnadenhutten  was. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


327 


then  pillaged  of  every  article  of  value  which  could  be  easily 
removed;  its  houses — even  those  which  contained  the 
dead  bodies  of  the  Moravians — were  burned  to  ashes,  and 
the  men  set  out  on  their  return  to  the  settlements.1 

The  expedition  against  the  Moravian  towns  on  the 
Muskingum,  was  projected  and  carried  on  by  inhabitants 
of  the  [239]  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania, — a  district 
of  country  which  had  long  been  the  theatre  of  Indian 
hostilities.  Its  result  (strange  as  it  may  now  appear)  was 
highly  gratifying  to  many;  and  the  ease  with  which  so 
much  Indian  blood  had  been  made  to  flow,  coupled  with 
an  ardent  desire  to  avenge  the  injuries  which  had  been 
done  them  by  the  savages,  led  to  immediate  preparations 
for  another,  to  be  conducted  on  a  more  extensive  scale, 
and  requiring  the  co-operation  of  more  men.  And  al¬ 
though  the  completion  of  the  work  of  destruction,  which 
had  been  so  successfully  begun,  of  the  Moravian  Indians, 
was  the  principal  inducement  of  some,  yet  many  attached 
themselves  to  the  expedition,  from  more  noble  and  com¬ 
mendable  motives. 

The  residence  of  the  Moravians  ever  since  they  were 
removed  to  the  plains  of  Sandusky,  was  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  Wyandot  villages,  and  the  warriors  from 
these  had  been  particularly  active  and  untiring  in  their 
hostility  to  the  frontier  settlements  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
contemplated  campaign  against  the  Moravians,  was  viewed 
by  many  as  affording  a  fit  opportunity  to  punish  those 
savages  for  their  many  aggressions,  as  it  would  require 
that  they  should  proceed  but  a  short  distance  beyond  the 
point  proposed,  in  order  to  arrive  at  their  towns ;  and  they 
accordingly  engaged  in  it  for  that  purpose. 

Other  causes  too,  conspired  to  fill  the  ranks  and  form 
an  army  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  contemplated  ob¬ 
jects. — The  commandants  of  the  militia  of  Washington 
and  Westmoreland  counties  ''Cols.  Williamson  and  Mar- 

1  Salem,  New  Schonbrunn  and  Gnadenhiitten  were  all  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  whites  returned  home  the  following  day,  with  ninety-six 
scalps — ninety  Moravians  and  six  outlying  Indians.  It  seems  certain 
that  a  few  hostiles  were  with  the  Moravians  at  the  time  of  the  mas¬ 
sacre. — R.  G.  T. 


328 


Withers's  Chronicles 


shall)1  encouraged  the  inhabitants  to  volunteer  on  this 
expedition,  and  made  known,  that  every  militia  man  who 
accompanied  it,  finding  his  own  horse  and  gun,  and  pro¬ 
visions  for  a  month,  should  be  exempt  from  two  tours  of 
militia  duty;  and  that  all  horses  unavoidably  lost  in  the 
service,  should  be  replaced  from  those  taken  in  the  Indian 
country.  From  the  operation  of  these  different  causes,  an 
army  of  nearly  five  hundred  men  was  soon  raised,  who 
being  supplied  with  ammunition  by  the  Lieutenant  Col¬ 
onel  of  Washington  county,  proceeded  to  the  Old  Mingo 
towns,  the  place  of  general  rendezvous — where  an  election 
was  held  to  fill  the  office  of  commander  of  the  expedition.2 
The  candidates  were  Colonel  Williamson  and  Colonel 
Crawford;  and  the  latter  gentleman  being  chosen  imme¬ 
diately  organized  the  troops,  and  prepared  to  march. 

[240]  On  the  25th  of  May,  the  army  left  the  Mingo 
towns,  and  pursuing  “  Williamson’s  trail,”  arrived  at  the 
upper  Moravian  town  on  the  Muskingum  (Shoenbrun,) 
where  (finding  plenty  of  corn  of  the  preceding  year’s  crop, 
yet  on  the  stalk)  they  halted  to  refresh  their  horses. 
While  here,  Captains  Brenton  and  Bean,  discovered  and 
fired  upon  two  Indians ;  and  the  report  of  the  guns  being 
heard  in  camp,  the  men,  in  despite  of  the  exertions  of  their 
officers,  rushed  towards  the  source  of  alarm,  in  the  most 
tumultuous  and  disorderly  manner. — Colonel  Crawford, 
used  to  the  discipline  of  continental  soldiers,  saw  in  the 
impetuosity  and  insubordination  of  the  troops  under  his 
command,  enough  to  excite  the  liveliest  apprehensions  for 

1  David  Williamson,  as  previously  seen,  was  a  colonel  of  militia  in 
Washington  County,  Pa.;  James  Marshal,  as  county  lieutenant  of  Wash¬ 
ington,  was  his  superior  officer. — R.  G.  T. 

2  The  place  of  rendezvous  was  Mingo  Bottom  (the  present  Mingo 
Junction,  0.),  and  the  date  May  20.  It  was  the  24th  before  all  were 
present.  The  volunteers  numbered  480,  of  whom  two-thirds  were  from 
Washington  County;  most  of  the  others  were  from  Fayette  County, 
Pa.,  and  a  few  from  Ohio  County,  Ya.  In  the  vote  for  commander, 
William  Crawford  received  235,  and  Williamson  230.  Four  field  majors 
were  elected  to  rank  in  the  order  named  :  Williamson,  Thomas  Gaddis, 
John  McClelland,  and  one  Brinton.  The  standard  modern  authority 
for  the  details  of  this  expedition,  is  Butterfield’s  Crawford’s  Expedition 
Against  Sandusky  (Cincinnati:  Robert  Clarke  &  Co.,  1873). — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


329 


the  event  of  the  expedition.  He  had  volunteered  to  go  on 
the  campaign,  only  in  compliance  with  the  general  wish 
of  the  troops  that  he  should  head  them,  and  when  chosen 
commander  in  chief  of  the  forces  assembled  at  the  Mingo 
towns,  he  is  said  to  have  accepted  the  office  with  reluct¬ 
ance,  not  only  sensible  of  the  impracticability  of  control¬ 
ling  men  unused  to  restraint,  but  opposed  to  some  of  the 
objects  of  the  expedition,  and  the  frequently  expressed  de¬ 
termination  of  the  troops,  to  spare  no  Indian  whom  acci¬ 
dent  or  the  fortune  of  war  should  place  in  their  power. 

From  Shoenbrun  the  army  proceeded  as  expeditiously 
as  was  practicable  to  the  site  of  the  Moravian  village,  near 
the  Upper  Sandusky;  but  instead  of  meeting  with  this 
oppressed  and  persecuted  tribe,  or  having  gained  an  op¬ 
portunity  of  plundering  their  property,  they  saw  nothing 
which  manifested  that  it  had  been  the  residence  of  man, 
save  a  few  desolate  and  deserted  huts, — the  people,  whom 
it  was  their  intention  to  destroy,  had  some  time  before, 
most  fortunately  for  themselves,  moved  to  the  Scioto. 

Discontent  and  dissatisfaction  ensued  upon  the  disap¬ 
pointment.  The  guides  were  ignorant  of  there  being  any 
Indian  towns  nearer  than  those  on  Lower  Sandusky,  and 
the  men  became  impatient  to  return  home.  In  this  pos¬ 
ture  of  affairs,  a  council  of  war,  consisting  of  the  field 
officers  and  captains,  was  held,  and  it  was  resolved  to  move 
forward,  and  if  no  enemy  appeared  that  day,  to  retrace 
their  steps.  Just  after  this  determination  was  made 
known,  an  express  arrived,  from  a  detachment  of  mounted 
men,  which  had  been  sent  forward  to  reconnoitre,  writh  in¬ 
formation  that  about  three  miles  in  advance  a  large  body 
of  Indians  had  been  discovered  hastening  [241]  rapidly  to 
meet  them.  The  fact  was,  that  Indian  spies  had  watched 
and  reported  the  progress  of  the  expedition,  ever  after  it 
left  the  Mingo  towns;  and  when  satisfied  of  its  destina¬ 
tion,  every  arrangement  which  they  could  make  to  defeat 
its  object,  and  involve  the  troops  in  the  destruction  to 
which  it  was  their  purpose  to  consign  others,  was  begun 
by  the  savages.  Having  perfected  these,  they  were  march¬ 
ing  on  to  °Jve  battle  to  the  whites. 

©  © 

Immediately  upon  the  reception  of  this  intelligence, 


330 


Withers's  Chronicles 


the  army  moved  forward,  and  meeting  the  reconnoitreing 
party  coming  in,  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance  farther, 
when  they  came  in  view  of  the  Indians  hastening  to  oc¬ 
cupy  a  small  body  of  woods,  in  the  midst  of  an  extensive 
plain.  The  battle  was  then  begun  by  a  heavy  tire  from 
both  sides,  and  the  savages  prevented  gaining  possession 
of  the  woods.  A  party  of  them  having  however,  taken 
post  in  them  before  the  whites  came  up,  continued  much 
to  annoy  the  troops,  until  some  of  them,  alighting  from 
their  horses,  bravely  rushed  forward  and  dislodged  them. 
The  Indians  then  attempted  to  gain  a  small  skirt  of 
wood  on  Colonel  Crawford’s  right;  but  the  vigilance  of 
the  commanding  officer  of  the  right  wing,  (Major  Leet) 
detected  the  movement,  and  the  bravery  of  his  men  de¬ 
feated  it.  The  action  now  became  general  and  severe  and 
was  warmly  contested  until  dark,  when  it  ceased  for  a 
time  without  having  been  productive  of  much  advantage 
to  either  side.  During  the  night,  both  armies  lay  on  their 
arms;  adopting  the  wise  policy  of  kindling  large  fires 
along  the  line  of  battle,  and  retreating  some  distance  be¬ 
hind  them,  to  prevent  being  surprised  by  a  night  attack. 

Early  in  the  morning  a  few  shots  were  fired,  but  at 
too  great  distance  for  execution.  The  Indians  were  hourly 
receiving  reinforcements,  and  seemed  busily  engaged  in 
active  preparations  for  a  decisive  conflict.  The  whites  be¬ 
came  uneasy  at  their  increasing  strength  ;  and  a  council 
of  the  officers  deemed  it  expedient  to  retreat.  As  it  would 
be  difficult  to  effect  this  in  open  day,  in  the  presence  of  an 
enemy  of  superior  force,  it  was  resolved  to  postpone  it 
until  night,  making  in  the  mean  time  every  arrangement 
to  ensure  its  success. — The  killed  were  buried,  and  fires 
burned  over  the  graves  to  prevent  discovery, — litters  were 
made  for  bearing  the  wounded,  and  the  army  was  formed 
into  three  lines  with  them  in  the  centre. 

[242]  The  day  passed,  without  an  attack  being  made 
by  the  Indians.  They  were  still  seen  to  traverse  the  plains 
in  every  direction,  and  in  large  bodies;  and  not  until  the 
troops  were  about  forming  the  line  of  retreat,  did  they 
seem  to  have  any  idea  that  such  a  movement  was  intended. 
They  then  commenced  firing  a  few  shots,  and  in  a  little 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


331 


while  it  became  apparent  that  they  had  occupied  every 
pass,  leaving  open  only  that  which  led  to  Sandusky. 
Along  this  way,  the  guides  conducted  the  main  army, 
until  they  had  passed  the  Indian  lines  about  a  mile;  when 
wheeling  to  the  left,  they  marched  round  and  gained  the 
trail  of  their  outward  march.  Continuing  in  this  they 
proceeded  to  the  settlements  without  any  interruption. — . 
The  savage  warriors  thinking  it  better  to  follow  detached 
parties  than  the  main  army. 

The  few  shots  which  were  fired  by  the  Indians  as  the 
whites  were  forming  the  line  of  retreat,  were  viewed  by 
many  as  evidence  that  their  purpose  had  been  discovered,, 
and  that  these  were  signal  guns  preceding  a  general  at¬ 
tack.  Under  these  impressions,  the  men  in  front  hurried 
off  and  others  following  the  example,  at  least  one  third  of 
the  army  were  to  be  seen  flying  in  detached  parties,  and 
in  different  directions  from  that  taken  by  the  main  body, 
supposing  that  the  attention  of  the  Indians  would  be 
wholly  turned  to  this  point.  They  were  not  permitted  to 
proceed  far  under  this  delusive  supposition.  Instead  of 
following  the  main  army,  the  Indians  pursued  those  small 
parties  with  such  activity,  that  not  many  of  those  compos¬ 
ing  them  were  able  to  escape; — one  company  of  forty  men 
under  a  Captain  Williamson,1  was  the  only  party  detached 
from  the  principal  body  of  the  troops,  fortunate  enough 
to  get  with  the  main  army  on  its  retreat.  Late  in  the 
night,  they  broke  through  the  Indian  lines  under  a  heavy 
fire  and  with  some  loss,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  second 
day  of  the  retreat,  again  joined  their  comrades  in  the  ex¬ 
pedition,  who  had  marched  off*  in  a  body;  in  compliance 
with  the  orders  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

Colonel  Crawford  himself  proceeded  at  the  head  of 
the  army  for  some  short  distance,  when  missing  his  son,  hie 
son-in-law  (Major  Harrison)  and  two  nephews,2  he  stopped 
to  enquire  for  them.  Receiving  no  satisfactory  informa¬ 
tion  respecting  either  of  them,  he  was  induced  through 

1  Col.  David  Williamson. — R.  G.  T. 

s  His  son  John,  his  son-in-law  Major  William  Harrison,  and  one  of 
his  nephews, — not  two, — William  Crawford.  They  were  captured  by 
the  Indians  and  killed. — R.  G.  T. 


332 


Withers's  Chronicles 


anxiety  for  their  fate  to  continue  still,  until  all  had  passed 
on,  when  he  resumed  his  flight,  in  company  with  doctor 
Knight1  and  two  [243]  others.  For  their  greater  security, 
they  travelled  some  distance  apart,  but  from  the  jaded  and 
exhausted  condition  of  their  horses  could  proceed  but 
slowly.  One  of  the  two  men  in  company  with  the  Colonel 
and  doctor  Knight,  would  frequently  fall  some  distance 
behind  the  others,  and  as  frequently  call  aloud  for  them 
to  wait  for  him.  Kear  the  Sandusky  creek  he  hallooed  to 
them  to  halt,  but  the  yell  of  a  savage  being  heard  near 
him,  they  went  on  and  never  again  was  he  heard  of. 
About  day,  Colonel  Crawford’s  horse  gave  out  and  he 
was  forced  to  proceed  on  foot,  as  was  also  the  other  of 
the  two  who  had  left  the  field  with  him  and  Knight. 
They  continued  however  to  travel  together,  and  soon  over¬ 
took  Captain  Biggs,  endeavoriug  to  secured  the  safety  of 
himself  and  Lieutenant  Ashly,  who  had  been  so  badly 
wounded  that  he  was  unable  to  ride  alone.  A  heavy  fall 
of  rain  induced  them  to  halt,  and  stripping  the  bark  from 
some  trees,  they  formed  a  tolerable  shelter  from  the  storm, 
and  remained  there  all  night.  In  the  morning  they  were 
joined  by  another  of  the  troops,  when  their  company  con¬ 
sisted  of  six — Colonel  Crawford  and  Doctor  Knight,  who 
kept  about  an  hundred  yards  in  front — Captain  Biggs  and 
Lieutenant  Ashly,  in  the  center;  and  the  other  two  men 
in  the  rear.  They  proceeded  in  this  way  about  two  miles, 
when  a  party  of  Delawares  suddenly  sprang  from  their 
hiding  places  into  the  road,  and  making  prisoners  of 
Colonel  Crawford  and  Doctor  Knight,  carried  them  to  the 
Indian  camp  near  to  where  they  then  were.  On  the  next 
day  the  scalps  of  Captain  Biggs  and  Lieutenant  Ashly, 
were  brought  in  by  another  party  of  Indians  who  had  been 
likewise  watching  the  road.  From  the  encampment,  they 
were  led,  in  company  with  nine  other  prisoners,  to  the  old 
Wyandot  town,  from  which  place  they  were  told  they 
would  be  taken  to  the  new  town,  not  far  off.  Before  set- 

1  Dr.  John  Knight,  surgeon  to  the  expedition.  He  was  captured, 
and  sentenced  to  death,  but  after  thrilling  adventures  finally  escaped. — 
R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


333 


ting  out  from  this  place,  Colonel  Crawford  and  Doctor 
Knight  wTere  painted  black  by  Captain  Pipe,  a  Delaware 
chief,  who  told  the  former,  that  he  intended  to  have  him 
6haved  wrhen  he  arrived  among  his  friends,  and  the  latter 
that  he  was  to  be  carried  to  the  Shawnee  town,  to  see 
some  of  his  old  acquaintance.  The  nine  prisoners  were 
then  marched  off  in  front  of  Colonel  Crawford  and  Doctor 
Knight,  wTho  were  brought  on  by  Pipe  and  Wingenim,1 
another  of  the  Delaware  chiefs.  As  they  went  on,  they 
passed  the  bodies  of  four  of  the  captives,  who  had  been 
tomahawked  and  scalped  on  the  way,  and  came  [244]  to 
where  the  remaining  five  were,  in  time  to  see  them  suffer 
the  same  fate  from  the  hands  of  squaws  and  hoys.  The 
head  of  one  of  them  (John  McKinley,  formerly  an  officer 
in  one  of  the  Virginia  regiments)  was  cut  off,  and  for  some 
time  kicked  about  on  the  ground.  A  while  afterwards 
they  met  Simon  Girty  and  several  Indians  on  horseback; 
wdien  Col.  Crawford  was  stripped  naked,  severely  beaten 
wfith  clubs  and  sticks,  and  made  to  sit  down  near  a  post 
which  had  been  planted  for  the  purpose,  and  around  which 
a  fire  of  poles  was  burning  briskly.  His  hands  were  then 
pinioned  behind  him,  and  a  rope  attached  to  the  band 
around  his  wrist  and  fastened  to  the  foot  of  a  post  about 
fifteen  feet  high,  allowing  him  liberty  only  to  sit  down,  or 
walk  once  or  twice  round  it,  and  return  the  same  way. 
Apprehensive  that  he  was  doomed  to  be  burned  to  deaths 
he  asked  Girty  if  it  were  possible  that  he  had  been  spared 
from  the  milder  instruments  of  the  tomahawk  and  scalp¬ 
ing  knife,  only  to  suffer  the  more  cruel  death  by  fire. 
“  Yes ,  said  Girty ,  composedly ,  you  must  be  burned  Colonel .” 
“  It  is  dreadful,  replied  Crawford,  but  I  will  endeavor  to 
bear  it  patiently.”  Captain  Pipe  then  addressed  the  sav¬ 
ages  in  an  animated  speech,  at  the  close  of  which,  they 
rent  the  air  with  hideous  yells,  and  immediately  discharged 
a  number  of  loads  of  powder  at  the  naked  body  of  their 
victim.  His  ears  were  then  cut  off,  and  while  the  men 
would  apply  the  burning  ends  of  the  poles  to  his  flesh,  the 
squaws  threw  coals  and  hot  embers  upon  him,  so  that  in  a 


1  Wingenund. — R.  G.  T. 


334 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


little  time  he  had  too,  to  walk  on  fire.  In  the  midst  of 
these  sufferings,  he  begged  of  the  infamous  Girty  to  shoot 
him.  That  worse  than  savage  monster,  tauntingly  re¬ 
plied,  “how  can  I?  you  see  I  have  no  gun,”  and  laughed 
heartily  at  the  scene. 

For  three  hours  Colonel  Crawford  endured  the  most 
excruciating  agonies  with  the  utmost  fortitude,  when  faint 
and  almost  exhausted,  he  commended  his  soul  to  God,  and 
laid  down  on  his  face.  He  wTas  then  scalped,  and  burning 
coals  being  laid  on  his  head  and  back,  by  one  of  the  squaws, 
he  again  arose  and  attempted  to  walk ;  but  strength  failed 
him  and  he  sank  into  the  welcome  arms  of  death.  His 
body  was  then  thrown  into  the  fire  and  consumed  to  ashes.1 

Of  the  whole  of  this  shocking  scene,  Doctor  Knight 
was  [245]  an  unwilling  spectator;  and  in  the  midst  of  it 
was  told  by  Girty,  that  it  should  be  his  fate  too,  when  he 
arrived  at  the  Shawanee  towns.  These  were  about  forty 
miles  distant;  and  he  was  committed  to  the  care  of  a 
young  warrior  to  be  taken  there.  On  the  first  day  they 
travelled  about  twenty-five  miles,  and  when  they  stopped 
for  the  night,  the  Doctor  was  securely  fastened.  In  vain 
did  he  anxiously  watch  for  an  opportunity  to  endeavor  to 

[244]  1  Colonel  Crawford  was  then  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  had 
been  an  active  warrior  against  the  savages  for  a  great  while.  During 
[245]  the  French  war,  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  bravery  and  good 
conduct,  and  was  much  noticed  by  General  Washington,  who  obtained  for 
him  an  ensigncy.  At  the  commencement  of  the  revolution,  he  raised 
a  regiment  by  his  own  exertions,  and  at  the  period  of  this  unfortunate 
expedition,  bore  the  commission  of  Colonel  in  the  Continental  army. 
He  possessed  a  sound  judgment,  was  a  man  of  singular  good  nature  and 
great  humanity,  and  remarkable  for  his  hospitality.  His  melancholy 
sufferings  and  death  spread  a  gloom  over  the  countenances  of  all  who 
knew  him.  His  son,  John  Crawford,  and  his  son-in-law,  Major  Harri¬ 
son,  were  taken  prisoners,  carried  to  the  Shawanee  towns  and  murdered. 

Comment  by  R.  G.  T. — Crawford  was  born  in  1732,  in  Orange  County, 
Va.,  of  Scotch-Irish  parentage.  He  made  the  friendship  of  Washington 
wrhile  the  latter  was  surveying  for  Lord  Fairfax,  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  in  1749.  Washington  taught  him  his  art,  but  in  1755  he 
abandoned  it  for  a  military  life,  and  thenceforward  was  a  prominent 
character  on  the  frontier,  often  serving  under  Washington.  From  1767 
forward,  his  home  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Youghiogheny,  on  Braddock’s 
Road.  Crawford  fought  in  Dunmore’s  War,  and  throughout  the  Revo¬ 
lution  did  notable  service  on  the  Virginia  border. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


335 


release  himself  from  the  cords  which  bound  him.  The  In¬ 
dian  was  vigilant  and  slept  none.  About  day  light  they 
arose,  and  while  the  Indian  was  kindling  a  tire,  the  gnats 
were  so  troublesome  that  he  untied  his  prisoner,  and  set 
him  likewise  to  making  a  tire  to  relieve  them  from  the  an- 
novance.  The  doctor  took  a  burning  coal  between  two 
sticks,  and  going  behind  the  Indian  towards  the  spot  at 
which  he  was  directed  to  excite  a  smoke,  turned  suddenly 
around,  and  struck  the  savage  with  all  his  force.  The  In¬ 
dian  fell  forward,  but  quickly  recovering  and  seeing  his 
gun  in  the  hands  of  his  assailant,  ran  off,  howling  hide¬ 
ously. — The  anxiety  of  Doctor  Knight,  saved  the  life  of 
the  savage. — When  he  seized  the  gun,  he  drew  back  the 
cock  in  such  haste  and  with  so  much  violence  as  to  break 
the  main  spring  and  render  it  useless  to  him ;  but  as  the 
Indian  was  ignorant  of  this  circumstance,  he  continued 
his  flight  and  the  doctor  was  then  enabled  to  escape.  After 
a  toilsome  travel  of  twenty-one  days,  during  which  time 
he  subsisted  altogether  on  wild  gooseberries,  young  nettles, 
a  raw  terrapin  and  two  young  birds,  he  arrived  safely  at 
Fort  McIntosh — meagre,  emaciated  and  almost  famished. 

Another  instance  of  great  good-fortune  occurred  iu  the 
person  of  John  Slover,1  who  was  also  made  prisoner  after 
having  travelled  more  than  half  the  distance  from  the  fatal 
scene  of  [246]  action  to  Fort  Pitt.  When  only  eight 
years  of  age  he  had  been  taken  by  some  Indians  on  Hew 
river,  and  detained  in  captivity  for  twelve  years.  In  this 
time  he  became  well  acquainted  with  their  manners  and 
customs,  and  attached  to  their  mode  of  living  so  strongly, 
that  when  ransomed  by  his  friends,  he  left  his  Indian  com¬ 
panions  with  regret.  He  had  become  too,  while  with  them, 
familiar  with  the  country  north  west  of  the  Ohio,  and  an 
excellent  woodsman;  and  in  consequence  of  these  attain¬ 
ments  was  selected  a  principal  guide  to  the  army  on  its 
outward  march.  When  a  retreat  was  prematurely  began 
to  be  made  by  detached  parties,  he  was  some  distance  from 

1  John  Slover,  one  of  the  guides  to  the  expedition,  was  among  the 
best  known  scouts  of  his  day,  on  the  Upper  Ohio.  His  published  Narrative 
is  a  prime  source  of  information  relative  to  the  events  of  the  campaign. — 
R.  G.  T. 


336 


Withers's  Chronicles 


camp,  and  having  to  equip  himself  for  flight,  was  left  a 
good  way  in  the  rear.  It  was  not  long  however,  before  he 
came  up  with  a  party,  whose  horses  were  unable  to  extri¬ 
cate  themselves  from  a  deep  morass,  over  which  they  had 
attempted  to  pass.  Slover's  was  soon  placed  in  the  same 
unpleasant  situation,  and  they  all,  alighting  from  them, 
proceeded  on  foot.  In  this  manner  they  traveled  on  until 
they  had  nearly  reached  the  Tuscarawa,  when  a  party  oj 
savages  from  the  way  side,  fired  upon  them.  One  of  the 
men  was  killed,  Slover  and  two  others  made  prisoners,  & 
the  fifth  escaped  to  Wheeling. 

Those  taken  captive  were  carried  first  to  Wacha- 
tomakah  (a  small  town  of  the  Mingoes  and  Shawanees,) 
from  whence  after  having  been  severely  beaten,  they  were 
conducted  to  a  larger  town  two  miles  farther.  On  their 
arrival  here,  they  had  all  to  pass  through  the  usual  cere¬ 
monies  of  running  the  gauntlet;  and  one  of  them  who 
had  been  stripped  of  his  clothes  and  painted  black,  was 
most  severely  beaten,  mangled,  and  killed,  and  his  body 
cut  in  pieces  and  placed  on  poles  outside  the  town.  Here 
too,  Slover  saw  the  dead  bodies  of  Col.  McClelland,  Major 
Harrison  and  John  Crawford ;  and  learned  that  they  had 
all  been  put  to  death  but  a  little  while  before  his  arrival 
there ;  and  although  he  was  spared  for  some  time,  yet 
every  thing  which  he  saw  acted  towards  other  prisoners, 
led  him  to  fear  that  he  was  reserved  for  a  more  cruel  fate, 
whenever  the  whim  of  the  instant  should  suggest  its  con¬ 
summation.  At  length  an  express  arrived  from  Detroit 
with  a  speech  for  the  warriors,  which  decided  his  doom. 
Being  decyphered  from  the  belt  of  wampum  which  con¬ 
tained  it,  the  speech  began  by  enquiring  why  they  con¬ 
tinued  to  take  prisoners,  and  said,  “  Provisions  are  scarce 
and  when  you  send  in  [247]  prisoners,  we  have  them  to 
feed,  and  still  some  of  them  are  getting  off,  and  carrying 
tidings  of  our  affairs.  When  any  of  your  people  are  taken 
hv  the  rebels,  they  shew  no  mercy.  Why  then  should 
you  ?  My  children  take  no  more  prisoners  of  any  sort, 
men,  women,  or  children.”  Two  days  after  the  arrival  of 
the  express  with  this  speech,  a  council  of  the  different 
tribes  of  Indians  near,  was  held,  and  it  was  determined  to 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


337 


act  in  conformity  with  the  advice  of  the  Governor  of  De¬ 
troit.  Slover  was  then  the  only  white  prisoner  at  this 
town  ;  and  on  the  morning  after  the  council  was  dissolved, 
about  forty  warriors  came  to  the  house  where  he  was,  and 
tying  a  rope  around  his  neck,  led  him  off  to  another  vil¬ 
lage,  live  miles  distant.  Here  again  he  was  severely  beaten 
with  clubs  &  the  pipe  end  of  the  tomahawk,  &  then  tied  to 
a  post,  around  which  were  piles  of  wood.  These  were 
soon  kindled,  but  a  violeut  rain  falling  unexpectedly,  ex¬ 
tinguished  the  flames,  before  they  had  effected  him.  It 
was  then  agreed  to  postpone  his  execution,  until  the  next 
day,  and  being  again  beaten  and  much  wounded  by  their 
blows,  he  was  taken  to  a  block  house,  his  hands  tied,  the 
rope  about  his  neck  fastened  to  a  beam  of  the  building^ 
and  three  warriors  left  to  guard  him  for  the  night. 

If  the  feelings  of  Slover  would  have  permitted  him 
to  enjoy  sleep,  the  conduct  of  the  guard  would  have  pre¬ 
vented  it.  They  delighted  in  keeping  alive  in  his  mind 
the  shocking  idea  of  the  suffering  which  he  would  have  to 
endure,  &  frequently  asking  him  “how  he  would  like  to 
eat  fire,”  tormented  him  nearly  all  night.  Awhile  before 
day  however,  they  fell  asleep,  and  Slover  commenced  un¬ 
tying  himself.  Without  much  difflculty  he  loosened  the 
cord  from  his  arms,  but  the  ligature  around  his  neck,  of 
undressed  buffalo-hide,  seemed  to  defy  his  exertions  to  re¬ 
move  it ;  and  while  he  was  endeavoring  to  gnaw  it  in  vain, 
one  of  the  sleeping  Indians,  rose  up  and  going  near  to  him, 
sat  and  smoked  his  pipe  for  some  time.  Slover  lay  per¬ 
fectly  still,  apprehensive  that  all  chance  of  escape  was  now 
lost  to  him.  But  no — the  Indian  again  composed  himself 
to  sleep,  and  the  first  effort  afterwards  made,  to  loose  the 
hand  from  his  neck  by  slipping  it  over  his  head,  resulted 
in  leaving  Slover  entirely  unbound.  He  then  crept  softly 
from  the  house  and  leaping  a  fence,  gained  the  cornfield. 
Passing  on,  as  he  approached  a  tree,  he  espied  a  squaw  with 
several  children  lying  at  its  root ;  and  fearing  that  some 
of  them  might  discover  him  and  give  the  alarm  of  his 
[248]  escape,  he  changed  his  course.  He  soon  after  reached 
a  glade,  in  which  were  several  horses,  one  of  which  he 

09 


338 


Withers's  Chronicles 


caught;  and  also  found  a  piece  of  an  old  rug,  which  af¬ 
forded  him  his  only  covering  until  he  reached  Wheeling. 
This  he  was  enabled  to  do  in  a  few  days,  being  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  country. 

The  town,  from  which  Slover  escaped,  was  the  one  to 
which  Dr.  Knight  was  to  have  been  taken.  The  Indian 
who  had  him  in  charge,  came  in  while  Slover  was  there, 
and  reported  his  escape — magnifying  the  Doctor’s  stature 
to  gigantic  size  and  attributing  to  him  herculean  strength. 
When  Slover  acquainted  the  warriors  with  the  fact,  that 
Doctor  Knight  was  diminutive  and  effeminate,  they 
laughed  heartily  at  this  Indian,  and  mocked  at  him  for 
suffering  the  escape.  He  however  bore  a  mark  which 
showed  that,  weak  and  enfeebled  as  he  was,  the  Doctor 
had  not  played  booty  when  he  aimed  the  blow  at  his  con¬ 
ductor. — It  had  penetrated  to  the  skull  and  made  a  gash 
of  full  four  inches  length. 

These  are  but  few  of  the  many  incidents  which  no 
doubt  occurred,  to  individuals  who  endeavored  to  effect  an 
escape  by  detaching  themselves  from  the  main  army.  The 
number  of  those,  thus  separated  from  the  troops,  who  had 
the  good  fortune  to  reach  the  settlements,  was  small  in¬ 
deed  ;  and  of  the  many  of  them  who  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  savages,  Knight  and  Slover  are  believed  to  be  the 
only  persons,  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  make  an  escape. 
The  precise  loss  sustained  in  the  expedition,  was  never 
ascertained,  and  is  variously  represented  from  ninety  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty. 

Among  those  of  the  troops  who  went  out  under  Col. 
Crawford,  that  came  into  Wheeling,  was  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Mills.1  Having  rode  very  fast,  and  kept  his  horse 
almost  continually  travelling,  he  was  forced  to  leave  him, 
near  to  the  present  town  of  St.  Clairsville  in  Ohio.  Hot 
liking  the  idea  of  loosing  him  altogether,  upon  his  arrival 
at  A\rheeling  he  prevailed  on  Lewis  Wetsel2  to  go  with 
him  to  the  place  where  his  horse  gave  out,  to  see  if  they 
could  not  find  him.  Apprehensive  that  the  savages  would 


1  Thomas  Mills.— R.  G.  T. 

2  Lewis  Wetzel,  a  noted  Indian  fighter.  See  p.  161,  note. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


339 


pursue  the  fugitives  to  the  border  of  the  settlements, 
Wetsel  advised  Mills  that  their  path  would  not  be  free 
from  dangers,  and  counselled  him  to  “  prepare  for  fight- 
iug.” 

When  they  came  near  to  the  place  where  the  horse  had 
been  left,  they  met  a  party  of  about  forty  Indians  going  to¬ 
wards  [249]  the  Ohio  river  and  who  discovered  Mills  and 
Wetsel  as  soon  as  these  saw  them.  Upon  the  first  fire 
from  the  Indians  Mills  was  wounded  in  the  heel,  and  soon 
overtaken  and  killed.  Wetzel  singled  out  his  mark,  shot, 
and  seeing  an  Indian  fall,  wheeled  and  ran.  He  was  im¬ 
mediately  followed  by  four  of  the  savages,  who  laid  aside 
their  guns  that  they  might  the  more  certainly  overtake 
him.  Having  by  practice,  acquired  the  art  of  loading  his 
gun  as  he  ran,  Wetsel  was  indifferent  how  near  the  savages 
approached  him,  if  he  were  out  of  reach  of  the  rifles  of 
the  others.  Accordingly,  keeping  some  distance  ahead  of 
his  pursuers  whilst  re-loading  his  gun,  he  relaxed  his  speed 
until  the  foremost  Indian  had  got  within  ten  or  twelve 
steps  of  him.  He  then  wheeled,  shot  him  dead,  and  again 
took  to  flight.  He  had  now  to  exert  his  speed  to  keep  in 
advance  of  the  savages  ’till  he  should  again  load,  &  when 
this  was  accomplished  and  he  turned  to  fire,  the  second 
Indian  was  near  enough  to  catch  hold  of  the  gun,  when  as 
Wetsel  expressed  it,  “  they  had  a  severe  wring.”  At  length 
he  succeed  in  raising  the  muzzle  to  the  breast  of  his  an¬ 
tagonist,  and  killed  him  also. 

In  this  time  both  the  pursuers  and  pursued  had  be¬ 
come  much  jaded,  and  although  Wetsel  had  consequently 
a  better  opportunity  of  loading  quickly,  yet  taught  wari¬ 
ness  by  the  fate  of  their  companions,  the  two  remaining 
savages  would  spring  behind  trees  whenever  he  made  a 
movement  like  turning  towards  them.  Taking  advantage 
of  a  more  open  piece  of  ground,  he  was  enabled  to  fire  on 
one  of  them  who  had  sought  protection  behind  a  sapling 
too  small  to  screen  his  body.  The  ball  fractured  his  thigh, 
and  produced  death.  The  other,  instead  of  pressing  upon 
Wetsel,  uttered  a  shrill  yell,  and  exclaiming,  “  no  catch 
him ,  gun  always  loaded,”  returned  to  his  party. 


340 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[250]  CHAPTER  XV. 

While  expeditions  were  carrying  on  by  the  whites,, 
against  the  Moravian  and  other  Indians,  the  savages  were 
prosecuting  their  accustomed  predatory  and  exterminating 
war,  against  several  of  the  settlements.  Parties  of  Indi¬ 
ans,  leaving  the  towns  to  he  defended  by  the  united  ex¬ 
ertions  of  contiguous  tribes,  would  still  penetrate  to  the 
abode  of  the  whites,  and  with  various  success,  strive  to 
avenge  on  them  their  real  and  fancied  wrongs. 

On  the  8th  of  March  as  William  White,  Timothy 
Dorman  and  his  wife,  were  going  to,  and  in  site  of  Bu- 
channon  fort,  some  guns  were  discharged  at  them,  and 
White  being  shot  through  the  hip  soon  fell  from  his  horse, 
and  was  tomahawked,  scalped  and  lacerated  in  the  most 
frightful  manner.1 — Dorman  and  his  wife  were  taken 
prisoners.  The  people  in  the  fort  heard  the  firing  and 
flew  to  arms;  hut  the  river  being  between,  the  savages 
cleared  themselves,  while  the  whites  were  crossing  over. 

After  the  killing  of  White  (one  of  their  most  active 

1 L.  Y.  McWhorter  informs  me  that  White,  who  was  a  prominent 
settler,  was  once  with  others  on  a  hunting  expedition,  wdien  they  sur¬ 
prised  a  small  party  of  Indians.  They  killed  several,  but  one  active 
young  brave  ran  off,  with  White  close  at  his  heels.  The  Indian  leaped 
from  a  precipice,  alighting  in  a  quagmire  in  which  he  sank  to  his  waist. 
White,  with  tomahawk  in  hand,  jumped  after  him.  In  the  struggle 
which  ensued,  White  buried  his  weapon  in  the  red  man’s  skull.  The 
victim’s  father  was  among  those  who  escaped,  and  for  a  long  time — Mc¬ 
Whorter  says  “  several  years  ” — he  lurked  about  the  settlements  trailing 
White.  Finally,  he  succeeded  in  shooting  his  man,  within  sight  of  the 
fort.  Mrs.  White  was  an  eye-wdtness  of  the  tragedy.  McWhorter 
claims  that  Withers  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  White  was  “tomahawked, 
scalped  and  lacerated  in  the  most  frightful  manner.”  The  avenging  In¬ 
dian  tried  to  get  his  scalp,  but  an  attacking  party  from  the  fort  were  so 
close  upon  him  that  he  fled  before  accomplishing  his  object.  Mc¬ 
Whorter  reports  another  case,  not  mentioned  in  Withers.  One  Fink 
was  “  killed  by  Indians  in  ambush,  while  letting  down  a  pair  of  bars  one 
evening,  just  in  front  of  w’here  the  Buckhannon  court-house  now 
stands.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


341 


and  vigilant  warriors  and  spies)  and  the  capture  of  Dor¬ 
man,  it  was  resolved  to  abandon  the  fort,  and  seek  else¬ 
where,  security  from  the  greater  ills  which  it  was  found 
would  befall  them  if  they  remained.  This  apprehension 
arose  from  the  fact,  that  Dorman  was  then  with  the  sav¬ 
ages,  and  that  to  gratify  his  enmity  to  particular  indi¬ 
viduals  in  the  settlement,  he  would  unite  with  the  Indians, 
and  from  his  knowledge  of  the  [251]  country ,  be  enabled  to 
conduct  them  the  more  securely  to  blood  and  plunder.  He 
was  a  man  of  sanguinary  and  revengeful  disposition, 
prone  to  quarrelling,  and  had  been  known  to  say,  that  if 
he  caught  particular  individuals  with  whom  he  was  at  va¬ 
riance,  in  the  woods  alone,  he  would  murder  them  and  at¬ 
tribute  it  to  the  savages.  He  had  led,  when  in  England,  a 
most  abandoned  life,  and  after  he  was  transported  to  this 
country,  was  so  reckless  of  reputation  and  devoid  of  shame 
for  his  villainies,  that  he  would  often  recount  tales  of  theft 
and  robbery  in  which  he  had  been  a  conspicuous  actor. 
The  fearful  apprehensions  of  increased  and  aggravated  in¬ 
juries  after  the  taking  of  him  prisoner,  were  well-founded ; 
and  subsequent  events  fully  proved,  that,  but  for  the  evac¬ 
uation  of  the  fort,  and  the  removal  of  the  inhabitants,  all 
would  have  fallen  before  the  fury  of  savage  warriors,  with 
this  abandoned  miscreant  at  their  head. 

While  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  settlement 
were  engaged  in  moving  their  property  to  a  fort  in  Ty- 
gart’s  Valley  (the  others  removing  to  Gutter’s  fort  and 
Clarksburg,)  they  were  fired  upon  by  a  party  of  savages, 
and  two  of  them,  Michael  Hagle  and  Elias  Paynter,  fell. 
The  horse  on  which  John  Bush  was  riding,  was  shot 
through;  yet  Bush  succeeded  in  extricating  himself  from  * 
the  falling  animal,  and  escaped  though  closely  pursued  by 
one  of  the  savages.  Several  times  the  Indian  following 
him,  would  cry  out  to  him,  “  Stop,  and  you  shall  not  be 
hurt — If  you  do  not ,  I  will  shoot  you”  and  once  Bush, 
nearly  exhausted,  and  in  despair  of  getting  off,  actually 
relaxed  his  pace  for  the  purpose  of  yielding  himself  a 
prisoner,  when  turning  round  he  saw  the  savage  stop  also, 
and  commence  loading  his  gun.  This  inspired  Bush  with 
fear  for  the  consequences,  and  renewing  his  flight  he  made 


342 


Withers's  Chronicles 


his  escape.  Edward  Tanner,  a  mere  youth,  was  soon 
taken  prisoner,  and  as  he  was  being  carried  to  their  towns,, 
met  between  twenty  and  thirty  savages,  headed  by  Timothy 
Dorman,  proceeding  to  attack  Buchannon  fort.  Learning 
from  him  that  the  inhabitants  were  moving  from  it,  and 
that  it  would  be  abandoned  in  a  few  days,  the  Indians 
pursued  their  journey  with  so  much  haste,  that  Dorman 
had  wrell  nigh  failed  from  fatigue.  They  arrived  however, 
too  late,  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  bloody  purpose; 
the  settlement  was  deserted,  and  the  inhabitants  safe 
within  the  walls  of  other  fortresses. 

[252]  A  few  days  after  the  evacuation  of  the  fort,  some 
of  its  former  inmates  went  from  Clarksburg  to  Buchannon 
for  grain  which  had  been  left  there.  When  they  came  in 
sight,  they  beheld  a  heap  of  ashes  where  the  fort  had 
been  ;  and  proceeding  on,  became  convinced  that  the  sav¬ 
ages  were  yet  lurking  about.  They  however,  continued 
to  go  from  farm  to  farm  collecting  the  grain,  but  with  the 
utmost  vigilance  and  caution,  and  at  night  went  to  an  out 
house,  near  wThere  the  fort  had  stood.  Here  they  found  a 
paper,  with  the  name  of  Timothy  Dorman  attached  to  it, 
dated  at  the  Indian  towns,  and  containing  information  of 
those  wTho  had  been  taken  captive  in  that  district  of 
country. 

In  the  morning  early,  as  some  of  the  men  went  from 
the  house  to  the  mill,  they  saw  the  savages  crossing  the 
river,  Dorman  being  with  them.  Thinking  it  best  to  im¬ 
press  them  with  a  belief  that  they  were  able  to  encounter 
them  in  open  conflict,  the  men  advanced  towards  them, — 
calling  to  their  companions  in  the  house,  to  come  on.  The 
Indians  fled  hastily  to  the  woods,  and  the  whites,  not  so 
rash  as  to  pursue  them,  returned  to  the  house,  and  secured 
themselves  in  it,  as  well  as  they  could.  At  night,  Captain 
George  Jackson  went  privately  forth  from  the  house,  and 
at  great  hazzard  of  being  discovered  by  the  waylaying 
savages,  proceeded  to  Clarksburg,  where  he  obtained  such 
a  reinforcement  as  enabled  him  to  return  openly  and  es¬ 
cort  his  former  companions  in  danger,  from  the  place  of 
its  existence. 

Disappointed  in  their  hopes  of  involving  the  inhabit- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


343 


ants  of  the  Buchannon  settlements  in  destruction,  the  sav¬ 
ages  went  on  to  the  Valley.  Here,  between  Westfall’s  and 
Wilson’s  forts,  they  came  upon  John  Bush  and  his  wife, 
Jacob  Stalnaker  and  his  son  Adam.  The  two  latter  being 
on  horse  hack  and  riding  behind  Bush  and  his  wife,  were 
fired  at,  and  Adam  fell.  The  old  gentleman,  rode  briskly 
on,  but  some  of  the  savages  were  before  him  and  endeavored 
to  catch  the  reins  of  his  bridle,  and  thus  stop  his  flight, 
lie  however,  escaped  them  all.  The  horse  from  which 
Adam  Stalnaker  had  fallen,  was  caught  by  Bush,  and  both 
he  and  Mrs.  Bush  got  safely  away  on  him. 

The  Indians  then  crossed  the  Alleghany  mountains, 
and  coming  to  the  house  of  Mrs.  Gregg,  (Dorman’s  former 
master)  made  an  attack  on  it.  A  daughter  of  that  gen¬ 
tleman,  alone  fell  a  victim  to  their  thirst  for  blood.  When 
taken  prisoner,  [253]  she  refused  to  go  with  them,  and 
Dorman  sunk  his  tomahawk  into  her  head  and  then 
scalped  her.  She  however,  lived  several  days  and  related 
the  circumstances  above  detailed. 

After  the  murder  of  John  Thomas  and  his  family  in 
1781,  the  settlement  on  Booth’s  creek  was  forsaken,  and 
its  inhabitants  went  to  Simpson’s  creek,  for  greater  secu¬ 
rity.  In  the  Spring  John  Owens  procured  the  assistance 
of  some  young  men  about  Simpson’s  creek,  and  proceeded 
to  Booth’s  creek  for  the  purpose  of  threshing  some  wheat 
at  his  farm  there. — While  on  a  stack  throwing  down 
sheaves,  several  guns  were  fired  at  him  by  a  party  of  twelve 
Indians,  concealed  not  far  off.  Owens  leapt  from  the 
stack,  and  the  men  caught  up  their  guns.  They  could 
not,  however,  discover  any  one  of  the  savages  in  their 
covert  and  thought  it  best  to  retreat  to  Simpson’s  creek 
and  strengthen  their  force  before  they  ventured  in  pursuit 
of  their  enemy.  They  accordingly  did  so,  and  when  they 
came  again  to  Booth’s  creek,  the  Indians  had  decamped, 
taking  with  them  the  horses  left  at  Owens’.  The  men 
however  found  their  trail  and  followed  it  until  night. — 
Early  next  morning,  crossing  the  West  Fork  at  Sliinns- 
ton,  they  went  on  in  pursuit  and  came  within  sight  of 
the  Indian  camp,  and  seeing  some  of  the  savages  lying 
near  their  fires,  fired  at  them,  but,  as  was  believed  without 


344 


Withers's  Chronicles 


effect.  The  Indians  again  took  to  flight;  and  as  they 
were  hastening  on,  one  of  them  suddenly  wheeled  and 
fired  upon  his  pursuers.  The  ball  passed  through  the 
hunting-shirt  of  one  of  the  men,  &  Benjamin  Coplin 
(then  an  active,  enterprising  young  man)  returning  the 
shot,  an  Indian  was  seen  suddenly  to  spring  into  a  laurel 
thicket.  Hot  supposing  that  Coplin’s  ball  had  taken  effect, 
they  followed  the  other  savages  some  distance  farther,  and 
as  they  returned  got  the  horses  and  plunder  left  at  the 
camp.  Some  time  afterwards  a  gun  was  found  in  the 
thicket,  into  which  the  Indian  sprang,  and  it  was  then 
believed  that  Coplin’s  shot  had  done  execution. 

In  the  same  spring  the  Indians  made  their  appearance 
on  Crooked  run,  in  Monongalia  county.  Mr.  Thomas 
Pindall,  having  been  one  day  at  Harrison’s  fort,  at  a  time 
when  a  greater  part  of  the  neighbourhood  had  gone 
thither  for  safety,  prevailed  on  three  young  men,  (Harri¬ 
son,  Crawford  and  Wright,  to  return  and  spend  the  night 
with  him.)  Some  time  after  they  had  been  abed,  the  fe¬ 
males  waked  Mr.  Pindall,  and  telling  him  that  they  had 
heard  several  times  a  noise  very  much  [254]  resembling 
the  whistling  on  a  charger,  insisted  on  going  directly  to 
the  fort.  The  men  heard  nothing,  and  being  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  fears  of  the  females  had  given  to  the 
blowing  of  the  wind,  that  peculiar  sound,  insisted  that 
there  was  no  danger  and  that  it  would  be  unpleasant  to 
turn  out  then,  as  the  night  was  very  dark.  Hearing 
nothing  after  this,  for  which  they  could  not  readily  account, 
the  men  rose  in  the  morning  unapprehensive  of  interrup¬ 
tion;  and  the  females,  relieved  of  their  fears  of  being  mo¬ 
lested  by  savages  during  the  night,  continued  in  bed. 
Mr.  Pindall  walked  forth  to  the  woods  to  catch  a  horse, 
and  the  young  men  went  to  the  spring  hard  by,  for  the 
the  purpose  of  washing.  While  thus  engaged  three  guns 
were  fired  at  them,  and  Crawford  and  Wright  were  killed. 
Harrison  fled  and  got  safely  to  the  fort. 

The  females  alarmed  at  the  report  of  the  guns,  sprang 
out  of  bed  and  hastened  towards  the  fort,  pursued  by  the 
Indians.  Mrs.  Pindall  was  overtaken  and  killed,  but  Ra¬ 
chael  Pindall,  her  sister-in-law,  escaped  safely  to  the  fort. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


345 


In  June  some  Indians  came  into  the  neighborhood  of 
Clarksburg,  and  not  meeting  with  an  opportunity  of  kill¬ 
ing  or  making  prisoners  any  of  the  inhabitants  without 
the  town,  one  of  them,  more  venturous  than  the  rest, 
came  so  near  as  to  shoot  Charles  Washburn  as  he  was 
chopping  a  log  of  wood  in  the  lot,  and  then  running  up, 
with  the  axe,  severed  his  skull,  scalped  him,  and  fled 
safely  away.  Three  of  Washburn’s  brothers  had  been 
previously  murdered  by  the  savages. 

In  August  as  Arnold  and  Paul  Richards  were  return¬ 
ing  to  Richard’s  fort,  they  were  shot  at  by  some  Indians, 
lying  hid  in  a  cornfield  adjoining  the  fort,  and  both  fell 
from  their  horses.  The  Indians  leaped  over  the  feuce  im¬ 
mediately  and  tomahawked  and  scalped  them. 

These  two  men  were  murdered  in  full  view  of  the 
fort,  and  the  firing  drew  its  inmates  to  the  gate  to  ascer¬ 
tain  its  cause.  When  they  saw  that  the  two  Richards’  were 
down,  they  rightly  judged  that  Indians  had  done  the 
deed ;  and  Elias  Hughes,  ever  bold  and  daring,  taking 
down  his  gun,  went  out  alone  at  the  back  gate,  and  entered 
the  cornfield,  into  which  the  savages  had  again  retired,  to 
see  if  he  could  not  avenge  on  one  of  them  the  murder  of 
his  friends.  Creeping  softly  along,  he  came  in  view  of 
them  standing  near  the  fence,  reloading  their  guns,  and 
looking  intently  at  the  people  at  the  fort  gate.  Taking 
[255]  a  deliberate  aim  at  one  of  them,  he  touched  the 
trigger.  His  gun  flashed,  and  the  Indians  alarmed  ran 
speedily  away. 

A  most  schocking  scene  was  exhibited  some  time  be¬ 
fore  this,  on  Muddy  creek  in  Pennsylvania.  On  the  10th 
of  May  as  the  Reverend  John  Corbly,  his  wife  and  five 
children  were  going  to  meeting,  (Mr.  Corbly  being  a  short 
distance  behind)  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  sav¬ 
ages  waylaying  the  road.  The  shrieks  of  Mrs.  Corbly 
and  the  children,  drew  the  husband  and  father  to  the  fatal 
spot.  As  he  was  approaching,  his  wife  called  to  him,  “  to 
fly/’  He  knew  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  contend 
successfully  against  the  fearful  odds  opposed  to  him,  and 
supposing  that  his  family  would  be  carried  away  as  pris¬ 
oners,  and  that  he  would  be  enabled  either  to  recover 


346 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


them  by  raising  a  company  and  pursuing  the  savages,  or 
to  ransom  them,  if  conducted  to  the  Indian  towns,  he  com¬ 
plied  with  her  wish,  and  got  safely  off,  though  pursued  by 
one  of  the  savages.  But  it  was  not  their  intention  to 
carry  them  into  captivity.  They  delighted  too  much,  to 
look  upon  the  lifeblood  flowing  from  the  heart;  and  ac¬ 
cordingly  shed  it  most  profusely.  The  infant  in  its 
mother’s  arms  was  the  first  on  whom  their  savage  fury 
fell, — it  was  tomahawked  and  scalped.  The  mother  then 
received  several  severe  blows,  but  not  falling,  was  shot 
through  the  body,  by  the  savage  who  chased  her  husband ; 
and  then  scalped.  Into  the  brains  of  a  little  son,  six  years 
old,  their  hatchets  were  sunk  to  the  heft.  Two  little  girls, 
of  two  and  four  years  of  age,  were  tomahawked  and 
scalped.  The  eldest  child,  also  a  daughter,  had  attempted  to 
escape  by  concealing  herself  in  a  hollow  log,  a  few  rods  from 
the  scene  of  action.  From  her  hiding  place,  she  beheld  all 
that  was  done,  and  when  the  bleeding  scalp  was  torn  from 
the  head  of  her  last  little  sister,  &  she  beheld  the  sav¬ 
ages  retiring  from  the  desolation  which  they  had  wrought, 
she  crawled  forth  from  concealment.  It  was  too  soon. 
One  of  the  savages  yet  lingered  near,  to  feast  to  satiety  on 
the  horrid  spectacle.  His  eyes  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  as 
she  crept  from  the  log,  and  his  tomahawk  and  scalping 
knife  became  red  with  her  blood. 

When  Mr.  Corbly  returned,  all  his  hopes  vanished. 
Which  ever  way  he  turned,  the  mangled  body  of  some  one 
of  his  family  was  presented  to  his  view.  His  soul  sickened 
at  the  contemplation  of  the  scene,  and  he  fainted  and  fell. 
When  he  had  revived,  he  was  cheered  with  the  hope  that 
some  of  [256]  them  might  yet  survive.  Two  of  his 
daughters  had  manifested  symptoms  of  returning  life,  and 
with  care  and  attention  were  restored  to  him. 

Thus  far  in  the  year  1782,  the  settlements  only  suffered 
from  the  accustomed  desultory  warfare  of  the  savages.  Ho 
numerous  collection  of  Indians  had  crossed  their  border, — 
no  powerful  army  of  warriors,  threatening  destruction  to 
the  forts,  those  asylums  of  their  safety,  had  appeared 
anions  them. — But  the  scene  was  soon  to  change. 

In  August,  there  was  a  grand  council  convened  at  Chil- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


347 


icothe,  in  which  the  Wyandots,  the  Shawanees,  the  Min- 
goes,  the  Tawas,  Pottowatomies,  and  various  other  tribes 
were  represented.1  Girty  and  McKee — disgraces  to  human 
nature — aided  in  their  deliberations.  The  surrender  of 
Cornwallis,  which  had  been  studiously  kept  secret  from 
the  Indians,  was  now  known  to  them,  and  the  war  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  seemed  to  them  to 
be  verging  to  a  close. — Should  a  peace  ensue,  they  feared 
that  the  concentrated  strength  of  Virginia,  would  bear 
down  upon  them  and  crush  them  at  once.  In  anticipation 
of  this  state  of  things,  they  had  met  to  deliberate,  what 
course  it  best  became  them  to  pursue.  Girty  addressed 
the  council.  He  reminded  them  of  the  gradual  encroach¬ 
ments  of  the  whites ; — of  the  beauty  of  Kentucky  and  its 
value  to  them  as  a  hunting  ground. — He  pointed  out  to 
them  the  necessity  of  greater  efforts  to  regain  possession 
of  that  country,  and  warned  them  that  if  they  did  not 
combine  their  strength  to  change  the  present  state  of  things,, 
the  whites  would  soon  leave  them  no  hunting  grounds ; 
and  they  would  consequently,  have  no  means  of  procuring 
rum  to  cheer  their  hearts,  or  blankets  to  warm  their 
bodies.  His  advice  was  well  received  and  they  determined 
to  continue  the  war.2 

When  the  council  was  adjourned,  the  warriors  pro¬ 
ceeded  to  execute  its  determinations.  Two  armies,  the 
one  of  six  hundred,  and  the  other  three  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  prepared  to  march,  each  to  it  assigned  station — The 
larger  was  destined  to  operate  against  Kentucky,  while 
the  smaller,  was  to  press  upon  Uorth  Western  Virginia; 
and  each  was  abundantly  supplied  with  the  munitions  of 
war.3  Towards  the  last  of  August  the  warriors  who  were 

lrThe  council  was  held  at  Wapatomica,  in  June.  There  were  pres¬ 
ent  representatives  of  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Wyandots,  Delawares, 
Shawnees,  Munsees,  and  Cherokees.  Simon  Girty  came  with  the  Wy¬ 
andots;  Captain  McKee  was  then  a  trader  at  Wapatomica. — R.  G.  T. 

2  See  the  alleged  speech  in  Butterfield’s  History  of  the  Girty s,  pp.  190. 
191.— R.  G.  T. 

3  The  Kentucky  party  was  under  Capt.  William  Caldwell,  who  wrote, 
“I  crossed  the  Ohio  with  three  hundred  Indians  and  rangers.”  Capts. 
McKee  and  Elliott,  and  the  three  Girtys  were  with  the  expedition. 


348 


Withers's  Chronicles 


to  act  In  Kentucky,  appeared  before  Bryant’s  station,  south 
of  Licking  river,  and  placed  themselves  under  covert 
during  night,* 1  and  in  advantageous  [257]  situations  for 
firing  upon  the  station,  so  soon  as  its  doors  should  he 
thrown  open. 

There  were  at  that  time  but  few  inhabitants  occupying 
that  station.  William  Bryant,  its  founder,  and  one  in 
whose  judgment,  skill  and  courage,  many  confidently  re¬ 
posed  for  security  from  savage  enormity,  had  been  un¬ 
fortunately  discovered  by  some  Indians  near  the  mouth  of 
Cane  run,  and  killed. — His  death  caused  most  of  those 
wrho  had  come  to  that  place  from  Korth  Carolina,  to  for¬ 
sake  the  station,  and  return  to  their  own  country.  Emi¬ 
grants  from  Virginia,  arriving  some  short  time  before,  and 
among  whom  was  Robert  Johnson,  (the  father  of  Richard 
M.  Johnson)  to  a  certain  extent  supplied  this  desertion; 
yet  it  -was  in  respect  to  numbers  so  far  inferior  to  the  sav¬ 
age  forces,  that  the  most  resolute  shuddered  in  apprehen¬ 
sion  of  the  result. 

The  station  too,  was  at  that  time,  careless  and  inat¬ 
tentive  to  its  own  defence ;  not  anticipating  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  a  savage  army  before  its  gates.  Indeed  had  the 
Indians  delayed  their  attack  a  few  hours,  it  would  have 
been  in  almost  an  entirely  defenceless  condition;  as  the 
men  were  on  that  morning  to  have  left  it,  for  the  purpose 
of  aiding  in  the  defence  of  another  station,  which  was 
then  understood  to  be  assailed  by  an  army  of  Indians. 
Fortunately  however,  for  the  inhabitants,  as  soon  as  the 
doors  of  some  of  the  cabins  were  opened  in  the  morning, 
the  savages  commenced  the  fire,  and  thus  admonished 
them  of  danger,  while  it  wras  not  yet  too  late  to  provide 
against  it. 

The  Indians  in  the  attack  on  Bryant’s  station  prac¬ 
tised  their  usual  stratagem,  to  ensure  their  success.  It  was 
begun  on  the  south-east  angle  of  the  station,  by  one  hun¬ 
dred  warriors,  while  the  remaining  five  hundred  were 

Caldwell  crossed  the  river  early  in  July,  not  far  below  the  mouth  o£ 
Limestone  creek— site  of  the  present  Maysville,  Ky. — R.  G.  T. 

1  They  arrived  on  the  night  of  August  15. — R.  G.  T. 


349 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

concealed  in  the  woods  on  the  opposite  side,  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  its  unprotected  situation  when,  as  they  an¬ 
ticipated,  the  garrison  would  concentrate  its  strength,  to 
resist  the  assault  on  the  south-east.  But  their  purpose 
was  fully  comprehended  by  the  garrison,  and  instead  of 
returning  the  fire  of  the  one  hundred,  they  secretly  sent 
an  express  to  Lexington  for  assistance,  and  commenced 
repairing  the  pallisades,  and  putting  themselves  in  the  best 
possible  condition  to  withstand  the  fury  of  the  assailants. 
Aware  that  the  Indians  were  posted  near  the  spring,  and 
believing  that  they  would  not  fire  unless  some  of  the  men 
should  be  seen  going  thither,  the  women  [258]  were  sent 
to  bring  in  water  for  the  use  of  the  garrison.  The  event 
justified  their  expectations — The  concealed  Indians,  still 
farther  to  strengthen  the  belief,  that  their  whole  force  were 
engaged  in  the  attack  on  the  south-east,  forbore  to  fire, 
or  otherwise  contradict  the  impression  which  they  had 
studiously  sought  to  make  on  the  minds  of  its  inmates. 

When  a  sufficiency  of  wrater  had  been  provided,  and 
the  station  placed  in  a  condition  of  defence,  thirteen  men 
were  sent  out  in  the  direction  from  wffiich  the  assault  was 
made.  They  were  fired  upon  by  the  assailing  party  of  one 
hundred,  but  without  receiving  any  injury;  and  retired 
again  within  the  pallisades.  Instantly  the  savages  rushed 
to  the  assault  of,  what  they  deemed,  the  unprotected  side 
of  the  station,  little  doubting  their  success.  A  steady,  well 
directed  fire,  put  them  quickly  to  flight.  Some  of  the 
more  desperate  and  daring  however,  approached  near 
enough  to  fire  the  houses,  some  of  which  were  consumed ; 
hut  a  favorable  wind  drove  the  flames  from  the  mass  of 
the  buildings  and  the  station  escaped  conflagration. 

Disappointed  of  the  expected  success  of  their  first 
stratagem,  the  assailants  withdrew  a  short  distance,  and 
concealed  themselves  under  the  hank  of  the  creek,  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  assistance,  which  was  generally  sent  to 
a  besieged  fort  or  station,  arranging  themselves  in  am- 
bushment  to  intercept  its  approach. 

When  the  express  from  Bryant’s  station  reached  Lex¬ 
ington,  the  male  inhabitants  had  left  there  to  aid  in  the 
defence  of  Holder’s  station,  which  wTas  reported  to  be  at- 


350 


Withers's  Chronicles 


tacked.  Following  on  their  route,  they  overtook  them  at 
Boonesborough,  and  sixteen  mounted,  and  thirty  footmen 
were  immediately  detached  to  aid  the  inhabitants  of  Bry¬ 
ant’s  station.  When  this  reinforcement  came  near,  the 
firing  had  entirely  ceased,  no  enemy  was  visible,  and  they 
approached  in  the  confidence  that  all  was  well.  A  sudden 
discharge  of  shot  from  the  savages  in  ambush,  dispelled  that 
hope.  The  horsemen  however,  passed  safely  by.  The  cloud 
of  dust  produced  by  the  galloping  of  their  horses,  obscured 
the  view  and  hindered  the  otherwise  deadly  aim  of  the  In¬ 
dians.  The  footmen  were  less  fortunate.  Two  of  them 
were  killed,  and  four  wounded ;  and  but  for  the  luxuriant 
growth  of  corn  in  the  field  through  which  they  passed, 
nearly  all  must  have  fallen,  before  the  overwhelming  force 
of  the  enemy. 

[259]  Thus  reinforced,  the  garrison  did  not  for  an  in¬ 
stant  doubt  of  safety ;  while  the  savages  became  hopeless 
of  success  by  force  of  arms,  and  resorted  to  another  ex¬ 
pedient  to  gain  possession  of  the  station.  In  the  twilight 
of  evening,  Simon  Girty  covertly  drew  near,  and  mount¬ 
ing  on  a  stump  from  which  he  could  be  distinctly  heard, 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  place.  He  told  the  garri¬ 
son,  that  a  reinforcement,  with  cannon,  would  arrive  that 
night,  and  that  this  demand  was  suggested  by  his  humanity , 
as  the  station  must  ultimately  fall,  and  he  could  assure 
them  of  protection  if  they  surrendered,  but  could  not  if 
the  Indians  succeeded  by  storm;  and  then  demanded,  if 
“they  knew  who  was  addressing  them.”  A  young  man 
by  the  name  of  Reynolds,  (fearing  the  effect  which  the 
threat  of  cannon  might  have  upon  the  garrison,  as  the  fate 
of  Huddle’s  and  Martin’s  stations  was  yet  fresh  in  their 
recollections,)  replied,  that  he  “  knew  him  well,  and  held 
him  in  such  contempt,  that  he  had  named  a  worthless  dog 
which  he  had  Simon  Giuty;  that  his  reinforcements  and 
threats,  were  not  heeded  by  the  garrison,  who  expected  to 
receive  before  morning  such  an  auxiliary  force  as  would  en¬ 
able  them  to  give  a  good  account  of  the  cowardly  wretches 
that  followed  him,  whom  he  held  in  such  contempt 
that  he  had  prepared  a  number  of  switches  with  which  to 


Of  Border  Warfare .  351 

drive  them  out  of  the  country  if  they  remained  there 
’till  day.”1 

Affecting  to  deplore  their  obstinacy,  Girty  retired, 
and  during  the  night,  the  main  body  of  the  Indian  army 
marched  off,  leaving  a  few  warriors  to  keep  up  an  occa¬ 
sional  firing  and  the  semblance  of  a  siege.2 

Shortly  after  the  retreat  of  the  savages,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  from  Lexington,  Harrodsburg  and  Boones- 
borough,  assembled  at  Bryant’s  station,  and  determined 
to  pursue  them.3 *  Prudence  should  have  prevailed  with 
them  to  await  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Logan,  who  was 
known  to  be  collecting  additional  forces  from  the  other 
station ;  but  brave  and  fearless,  well  equipped,  and  burn¬ 
ing  with  ardent  desire  to  chastise  their  savage  invaders, 
they  rather  indiscreetly  chose  to  march  on,  unaided, 
sooner  than  risk  suffering  the  enemy  to  retire,  by  delay¬ 
ing  for  other  troops.  But  the  Indians  had  no  wish  to 
retire,  to  avoid  the  whites.  The  trail  left  by  them,  to  the 
experienced  eye  of  Daniel  Boone,  furnished  convincing 
evidence,  that  they  were  only  solicitous  to  conceal  their 
numbers,  in  reality  to  tempt  pursuit. 

[260]  When  the  troops  arrived  at  the  Lower  Blue 
Licks,  they  saw  the  only  Indians,  which  had  met  their 
eye  on  the  route.  These  were  slowly  ascending  the  ridge 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  The  party  was  halted, 
and  Boone  consulted  as  to  what  course  it  would  be  best 
to  pursue.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  savage  force 
w7as  much  greater,  than  most  had  been  led  to  believe  by 
the  appearance  of  the  trail,  and  anticipating  pursuit,  were 
then  in  ambush  in  the  ravines ;  and  he  advised  that  the 
force  be  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  the  one,  marching 
up  the  river,  to  cross  it  at  the  mouth  of  Elk  creek,  abo\e 

1The  above  incident  is  mentioned  in  none  of  the  contemporary- 
chronicles,  and  is  probably  fiction. — R.  G.  T. 

2 The  attack  was  begun  early  in  the  morning  of  the  16th,  and  con¬ 
tinued  with  more  or  less  vigor  until  about  10  a.  m.  of  the  17th.  Cald¬ 
well  then  withdrew  his  force  “  in  a  leisurely  manner.”  The  attacking 
party  lost  five  killed  and  two  wounded,  all  Indians;  the  garrison  lost 
four  killed  and  three  wounded. — R.  G.  T. 

3  A  hundred  and  eighty-two,  under  Col.  John  Todd.  Pursuit  was 

commenced  on  the  18th. — R.  G.  T. 


352 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


the  upper  ravine,  while  the  other  party  should  take  a  po¬ 
sition  below  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  whenever  oc¬ 
casion  might  require;  but  that  neither  party  should  by 
any  means  cross  the  river,  until  spies  were  sent  out  to 
learn  the  position  and  strength  of  the  enemy.1  The  offi¬ 
cers  generally  were  inclined  to  follow  the  counsel  of  Boone, 
but  Major  McGary,  remarkable  for  impetuosity,  exclaim¬ 
ing,  “  Let  all  who  are  not  cowards,  follow  me,”  spurred 
his  horse  into  the  river.  The  whole  party  caught  the  con¬ 
tagious  rashness, — all  rushed  across  the  river.  There  was 
no  order, — no  arrangement — no  unity  or  concert.  None 
“  paused  in  their  march  of  terror,”  lest  “we  should  hover 
o’er  the  path,”  but  each,  following  his  own  counsel,  moved 
madly  towards  the  sheltered  ravines  and  wooded  ground, 
where  Boone  had  predicted  the  savages  lay  hid.  The 
event  justified  the  prediction,  and  showed  the  wisdom  of 
his  counsel. 

At  the  head  of  a  chosen  band  of  warriors,  Girtv  2  ad- 
vanced  with  fierceness  upon  .the  whites,  from  the  advan¬ 
tageous  position  which  he  covertly  occupied,  and  “  mad¬ 
ness,  despair  and  death  succeed,  the  conflict’s  gathering 
wrath.”  The  Indians  had  greatly  the  advantage  in  num¬ 
bers,  as  well  as  position,  and  the  disorderly  front  of  the 
whites,  gave  them  still  greater  superiority.  The  bravery 
of  the  troops  for  a  while  withstood  the  onset,  and  the  con¬ 
test  was  fierce  and  sanguinary  ’till  their  right  wing  being 
turned,  a  retreat  became  inevitable.  All  pressed  towards 
the  ford,  but  a  division  of  the  savage  army,  foreseeing  this, 
had  been  placed  so  as  to  interpose  between  them  and  it ; 
and  they  were  driven  to  a  point  on  the  river,  where  it 
could  only  be  crossed  by  swimming.  Here  was  indeed  a 
scene  of  blood  and  carnage.  Many  were  killed  on  the 

1  The  battle  occurred  at  8  a.  m.  of  August  19,  a  short  distance  north 
of  the  Lower  Blue  Licks,  on  the  Licking  river,  in  -what  is  now  Nicholas 
County. — R.  G.  T. 

2  The  tendency  among  early  Western  chroniclers  has  been  greatly 
to  magnify  the  importance  of  Simon  Girty.  He  was  merely  an  inter¬ 
preter  on  this,  as  on  most  other  expeditions.  Caldwell  was  in  command. 
The  British  force  now  consisted  of  200  Indians  and  30  rangers.  Some 
of  the  Indians  had  already  left  for  their  villages. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


353 


“bank;  others  in  swimming  over,  and  some  were  toma¬ 
hawked  in  the  edge  of  the  water.  Some  of  those  who  had 
been  foremost  in  getting  across  the  river,  wheeled  and 
opened  a  steady  lire  upon  the  pursuers.  Others,  animated 
by  the  example,  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  bank  dis¬ 
charged  their  guns  upon  the  savages,  and  checking  them 
for  a  while  enabled  many  to  escape  death.  But  for  this 
stand,  the  footmen  would  have  been  much  harrassed,  and 
very  many  of  them  entirely  cut  off.  As  it  was,  the  loss  in 
slain  was  great.  Of  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  (the 
number  of  whites,)  sixty-one  were  killed,  and  eight  taken 
prisoners.  Cols.  Todd  and  Trigg, — Majors  Harland  and 
Bulger, — Capts.  Gordon,  McBride,  and  a  son  of  Daniel 
Boone,  were  among  those  who  fell.  The  loss  of  the  sav¬ 
ages  was  never  known  ; — they  [261]  were  left  in  possession 
of  the  battle  ground,  and  at  leisure  to  conceal  or  carry  off 
their  dead,  and  when  it  was  next  visited  by  the  whites, 
none  were  found.1 

A  most  noble  and  generous  act,  performed  by  one  of 
the  whites,  deserves  to  be  forever  remembered.  While 
they  were  flying  before  the  closely  pursuing  savages, 
Reynolds  (who  at  Bryant’s  station  had  so  cavalierly  re¬ 
plied  to  Girty’s  demand  of  its  surrender)  seeing  Col.  Rob¬ 
ert  Patterson,  unhorsed  and  considerably  disabled  by  his 
wounds,  painfully  struggling  to  reach  the  river,  sprang 
from  his  saddle,  and  assisting  him  to  occupy  the  relin¬ 
quished  seat,  enabled  that  veteran  officer  to  escape,  and 
fell  himself  into  the  hands  of  the  savages.  He  was  not 
long  however,  detained  a  prisoner  by  them.  He  was  taken 
by  a  party  of  only  three  Indians ;  and  two  whites  passing 
hurriedly  on  towards  the  river,  just  after,  two  of  his  cap¬ 
tors  hastened  in  pursuit  of  them,  and  he  was  left  guarded 
by  only  one.  Reynolds  was  cool  and  collected,  and  only 

1  The  British  rangers  lost  one  of  their  number  by  death ;  of  their 
Indian  allies,  ten  were  killed  and  fourteen  wounded.  Of  the  Kentuck¬ 
ians,  about  seventy  were  killed,  several  badly  wounded,  and  seven  made 
prisoners.  Caldwell  continued  his  leisurely  retreat  to  Upper  Sandusky, 
which  he  reached  September  24,  the  Indians  meanwhile  dispersing  to 
their  several  homes. — R.  G.  T. 

23 


354 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


awaited  the  semblance  of  an  opportunity,  to  attempt  an 
escape.  Presently  the  savage  in  whose  custody  he  was, 
stooped  to  tie  his  moccason.  Suddenly  he  sprang  to  one 
side,  and  being  fleet  of  foot,  got  safely  off*. 

The  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks  was  fought  on  the  19th 
of  August.  On  the  next  day  Col.  Logan,  with  three  hun¬ 
dred  men,  met  the  remnant  of  the  troops  retreating  to 
Bryant’s  station ;  and  learning  the  fatal  result  of  the  con¬ 
test,  hurried  on  to  the  scene  of  action  to  bury  the  dead, 
and  avenge  their  fall — if  the  enemy  should  he  found  yet 
hovering  near.  On  his  arrival  not  a  savage  was  to  be  seen. 
Flushed  with  victory,  and  exulting  in  their  revenge,  they 
had  retired  to  their  towns,  to  feast  the  eyes  of  their  breth¬ 
ren,  with  the  scalps  of  the  slain.  The  field  of  battle  pre¬ 
sented  a  miserable  spectacle.  All  was  stillness,  where  so 
lately  had  arisen  the  shout  of  the  impetuous,  but  intrepid 
whites,  and  the  whoop  and  yell  of  the  savages,  as  they 
closed  in  deadly  conflict ;  not  a  sound  was  to  be  heard  but 
the  hoarse  cry  of  the  vulture,  flapping  her  wings  and 
mounting  into  the  air,  alarmed  at  the  intrusion  of  man. 
Those  countenances,  which  had  so  lately  beamed  with 
daring  and  defiance,  were  unmeaning  and  inexpressive; 
and  what  with  the  effect  produced  on  the  dead  bodies,  by 
the  excessive  heat  and  the  mangling  and  disfiguration  of 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  scarcely  one  could  be 
distinguished  from  another.  Friends  tortured  themselves 
in  vain,  to  find  friends,  in  the  huge  mass  of  slain, — fathers 
to  recognize  their  sons.  The  mournful  gratification  of 
bending  over  the  lifeless  bodies  of  dear  relations  and  gaz¬ 
ing  with  intense  anxiety  on  their  pallid  features,  was  de¬ 
nied  them.  Undistinguished,  though  not  unmarked,  all 
were  alike  consigned  to  the  silent  grave,  amid  sighs  of 
sorrow  and  denunciations  of  revenge. 

An  expedition  against  the  Indian  towns  was  immedi¬ 
ately  resolved  upon,  and  in  September,  Gen.  Clarke 
marched  towards  them,  at  the  head  of  nearly  one  thousand 
men.  Being  discovered  on  their  route  and  the  intelligence 
soon  spreading  that  an  army  from  [262]  Kentucky  was 
penetrating  the  country,  the  savages  deserted  their  villages 
and  fled;  and  the  expedition  was  thus  hindered  of  its 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


355 


purpose  of  chastising  them.  The  towns  however  were 
burned,  and  in  a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  Indians,  five  of 
them  were  killed,  and  seven  made  prisoners,  with  the  loss 
of  only  one  man.1 

The  Indian  forces  which  were  to  operate  against  North 
Western  Virginia,  for  some  time  delayed  their  purpose, 
and  did  not  set  out  on  their  march,  until  awhile  before  the 

1  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark  gave  this  official  report  of  his  expedition 
against  the  Shawnees,  in  a  letter  dated  Lincoln,  November  27,  1782: 
“  We  left  the  Ohio  the  4th  instant,  with  1050  men,  surprised  the  princi¬ 
pal  Shawanese  Town  in  the  evening  of  the  10th,  and  immediately- 
detached  strong  parties  to  different  quarters;  and  in  a  few  hours 
afterwards  two  thirds  of  the  towns  were  laid  in  ashes,  and  every¬ 
thing  they  were  possessed  of  destroyed,  except  such  as  were  most 
useful  to  tne  troops,  the  enemy  not  having  time  to  secrete  any  part 
of  their  property.  The  British  trading  post  at  the  head  of  the  Miami 
and  Carrying  Place  to  the  waters  of  the  Lakes,  shared  the  same  by  a 
party  of  150  horse,  commanded  by  Coi.  Logan,  and  property  to  a  great 
amount  was  also  destroyed:  the  quantity  of  provisions  burnt  far  sur¬ 
passed  any  idea  we  had  of  their  stores.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  ten 
scalps,  seven  prisoners,  and  two  whites  retaken ;  ours,  one  killed  and  one 
wounded. 

“  After  laying  part  of  four  days  in  their  towns,  and  finding  all 
attempts  to  bring  them  to  a  general  action  fruitless,  we  retired,  as  the 
season  was  far  advanced  and  the  weather  threatening.  I  could  not  learn 
by  the  prisoners  that  they  had  the  least  idea  of  General  Irvin’s  design 
of  penetrating  into  their  country.  Should  he  have  given  them  another 
stroke  at  Sandusky,  it  will  more  than  double  the  advantages  already 
gained. 

“  We  might  probably  have  got  many  more  scalps  and  prisoners- 
could  we  have  known  in  time  whether  or  not  we  were  discovered,  which 
we  took  for  granted  until  getting  within  three  miles  when  some  circum, 
stances  occurred  that  gave  us  reason  to  think  otherwise,  though  uncer¬ 
tain. — Col.  Floyd,  with  300  men,  was  ordered  to  advance  and  bring  on 
an  action  or  attack  the  town,  Major  Wells  w'ith  a  party  of  horse  being 
previously  detached  by  a  different  route  as  a  party  of  observation :  al¬ 
though  Col.  Floyd’s  motion  was  so  quick  as  to  get  to  the  town  but  a  few 
minutes  later  than  those  who  discovered  his  approach,  the  inhabitants 
had  sufficient  notice  to  effect  their  escape  to  the  woods  by  the  alarm 
cry  being  given,  and  which  wTas  repeated  by  all  that  heard  it ;  of  course 
our  party  only  fell  in  with  the  rear  of  the  enemy. 

“  I  must  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  militia  of  Kentucky  whose 
behaviour  on  the  occasion  does  them  honour,  particularly  their  desire 
of  saving  prisoners.” 

The  document  is  here  given  as  found  in  Almon’s  Remembrancer, 
xvi.,  pp.  93,  94;  but  it  has  of  course  been  edited,  after  the  fashion  of 
that  day,  for  Clark’s  original  letters  abound  in  misspellings. — R.  G.  T. 


356 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


return  of  those  who  had  been  sent  into  Kentucky.  On 
their  way,  a  question  arose  among  them — against  what 
part  of  the  country  they  should  direct  their  movements — 
and  their  division  on  this  subject,  rising  by  degrees  ’till 
it  assumed  a  serious  aspect,  led  many  of  the  chiefs  to  de¬ 
termine  on  abandoning  the  expedition ;  but  a  runner  ar¬ 
riving  with  intelligence  of  the  great  success  wThich  had 
crowned  the  exertion  of  the  army  in  Kentucky,  they 
changed  that  determination,  and  proceeded  hastily  towards 
Wheeling. 

In  the  first  of  September,  John  Lynn  (a  celebrated 
spy  and  the  same  who  had  been  with  Capt.  Foreman  at 
the  time  of  the  fatal  ambuscade  at  Grave  creek)  being  en¬ 
gaged  in  watching  the  warriors  paths,  northwest  of  the 
Ohio,  discovered  the  Indians  marching  with  great  expe¬ 
dition  for  Wheeling,  and  hastening  to  warn  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  the  danger  which  was  threatening  them,  swam  the 
river,  and  reached  the  village,  but  a  little  while  before  the 
savage  army  made  its  appearance.  The  fort  was  at  this 
time  without  any  regular  garrison,  and  depended  for  de¬ 
fence  exclusively,  on  the  exertions  of  those  who  sought 
security  within  its  walls.  The  brief  space  of  time  wdiich 
elapsed  between  the  alarm  by  Lynn,  and  the  arrival  of 
the  Indians,  permitted  only  those  who  were  immediately 
present  to  retire  into  it,  and  when  the  attack  was  begun 
to  be  made,  there  wrere  not  within  its  pallisades,  twenty 
effective  men  to  oppose  the  assault.  The  dwelling  house 
of  Col.  Ebenezer  Zane,  standing  about  forty  yards  from 
the  fort,  contained  the  military  stores  which  had  been 
furnished  by  the  government  of  Virginia;  and  as  it  was. 
admirably  situated  as  an  out  post  from  which  to  annoy  the 
savages  in  their  onsets,  he  resolved  on  maintaining  pos¬ 
session  of  it,  as  well  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  the  fort,  as 
for  the  preservation  of  the  ammunition.  Andrew  Scott, 
George  Green,  Mrs.  Zane,  Molly  Scott  and  Miss  McCul¬ 
lough,  were  all  who  remained  with  him.  The  kitchen 
(adjoining)  was  occupied  by  Sam  (a  negro  belonging  to 
Col.  Zane)  and  Kate,  his  wife. — Col.  Silas  Zane  commanded 
in  the  fort. 

When  the  savage  army  approached,  the  British  colors 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


357 


were  waving  over  them  ;  and  before  a  shot  was  discharged 
at  the  fort,  they  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  garrison. 
Ho  answer  was  deigned  to  this  demand,  but  the  firing  of 
several  shot  (by  order  of  Silas  Zane)  at  the  standard 
which  they  bore;  and  the  savages  rushed  to  the  assault. 
A  well  directed  and  brisk  fire  opened  upon  them  from 
Ool.  Zane’s  house  and  the  fort,  soon  drove  them  back. 
Again  they  rushed  forward ;  and  again  were  they  repulsed. 
The  number  of  [263]  arms  in  the  house  and  fort,  and  the 
great  exertions  of  the  women  in  moulding  bullets,  loading 
guns  and  handing  them  to  the  men,  enabled  them  to  fire 
so  briskly,  yet  so  effectively,  as  to  cause  the  savages  to 
recoil  from  every  charge.  The  darkness  of  night  soon 
suspended  their  attacks,  and  afforded  a  temporary  repose 
to  the  besieged.  Yet  were  the  assailants  not  wholly  in¬ 
active.  Having  suffered  severely  by  the  galling  fire  poured 
upon  them  from  the  house,  they  determined  on  reducing 
it  to  ashes.  For  this  purpose,  when  all  was  quietness  and 
silence,  a  savage,  with  a  fire  brand  in  his  hand  crawled  to 
the  kitchen,  and  raising  himself  from  the  ground,  waving 
the  torch  to  and  fro  to  rekindle  its  flame,  and  about  to  ap¬ 
ply  it  to  the  building,  received  a  shot  which  forced  him  to 
let  fall  the  engine  of  destruction  and  hobble  howling  away. 
The  vigilance  of  Sam  had  detected  him,  in  time  to  thwart 
his  purpose. 

On  the  return  of  light,  the  savages  were  seen  yet  en¬ 
vironing  the  fort,  and  although  for  some  time  they  delayed 
to  renew  their  suspended  assault,  yet  it  was  evident  they 
had  not  given  over  its  contemplated  reduction.  They  . 
were  engaged  in  making  such  preparations,  as  they  were 
^confident  would  ensure  success  to  their  exertions. 

Soon  after  the  firing  of  the  preceding  day  had  sub¬ 
sided,  a  small  boat,  proceeding  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Falls 
of  Ohio  with  cannon  balls  for  the  use  of  the  troops  there, 
put  to  shore  at  Wheeling;  and  the  man  who  had  charge  of 
her,  although  discovered  and  slightly  wounded  by  the 
savages,  reached  the  postern  and  was  admitted  to  the  fort. 
The  boat  of  course  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and 
they  resolved  on  using  the  balls  aboard,  for  the  demolition 
of  the  fortress.  To  this  end  they  procured  a  log,  with 


358 


Withers's  Chronicles 


a  cavity  as  nearly  corresponding  with  the  size  of  the  ball, 
as  they  could;  and  binding  it  closely  with  some  chains 
taken  from  a  shop  hard  by,  charged  it  heavily,  and  point¬ 
ing  it  towards  the  fort,  in  imagination  beheld  its  walls 
tumbling  into  ruin,  and  the  garrison  bleeding  under  the 
strokes  and  gashes  of  their  tomahawks  and  scalping  knives. 
All  things  being  ready,  the  match  was  applied. — A  dread¬ 
ful  explosion  ensued.  Their  cannon  burst; — its  slivers 
flew  in  every  direction;  and  instead  of  being  the  cause  of 
ruin  to  the  fort,  was  the  source  of  injury  only  to  them¬ 
selves.  Several  were  killed,  many  wounded,  and  all,  dis¬ 
mayed  by  the  event.  Recovering  from  the  shock,  they 
presently  returned  with  redoubled  animation  to  the  charge. 
Furious  from  disappointment,  exasperated  with  the  unfor- 
seen  yet  fatal  result,  they  pressed  to  the  assault  with  the 
blindness  of  phrensy.  Still  they  were  received  with  a  fire 
so  constant  and  deadly,  that  they  were  again  forced  to  re¬ 
tire  ;  and  most  opportunely  for  the  garrison. 

When  Lynn  gave  the  alarm  that  an  Indian  army 
was  approaching,  the  fort  having  been  for  some  time  un¬ 
occupied  by  a  garrison,  and  Col.  Zane’s  house  being  used 
as  a  magazine,  those  who  retired  into  the  fortress  had  to 
take  with  them  a  supply  of  ammunition  for  its  defence. 
The  supply  of  powder,  deemed  ample  at  the  time,  by  reason 
of  the  long  continuance  of  the  savages,  and  the  repeated 
[264]  endeavors  made  by  them,  to  storm  the  fort  was  now 
almost  entirely  exhausted,  a  few  loads  only,  remaining. 
In  this  emergency,  it  became  necessary  to  replenish  their 
.  stock,  from  the  abundance  of  that  article  in  Col.  Zane’s 
house.  During  the  continuance  of  the  last  assault,  ap¬ 
prized  of  its  security,  and  aware  of  the  danger  which 
wrould  inevitably  ensue,  should  the  savages  after  being 
again  driven  back,  return  to  the  assault  before  a  fresh  sup¬ 
ply  could  be  obtained,  it  was  proposed  that  one  of  their 
fleetest  men  should  endeavor  to  reach  the  house,  obtain  a 
keg  and  return  with  it  to  the  fort.  It  was  an  enterprise 
full  of  danger;  but  many  of  the  chivalric  spirits,  then 
pent  up  within  the  fortress,  were  willing  to  encounter 
them  all. 

Among  those  who  volunteered  to  go  on  this  emprise* 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


359 


was  Elizabeth,  the  younger  sister  of  Colonel  Zane.  She 
was  then  young  active  and  athletic; — with  precipitancy  to 
dare  danger,  and  fortitude  to  sustain  her  in  the  midst  of  it. 
Disdaining  to  weigh  the  hazard  of  her  own  life,  against 
the  risk  of  that  of  others,  when  told  that  a  man  would  en¬ 
counter  less  danger  by  reason  of  his  greater  fleetness,  she 
replied — “  and  should  he  fall,  his  loss  will  be  more  severely 
felt.  You  have  not  one  man  to  spare; — a  woman  will  not 
be  missed  in  the  defence  of  the  fort.”  Her  services  were 
accepted.  Divesting  herself  of  some  of  her  garments,  as 
tending  to  impede  her  progress,  she  stood  prepared  for  the 
hazzardous  adventure ;  and  when  the  gate  was  opened, 
she  bounded  forth  with  the  buoyancy  of  hope,  and  in  the 
confidence  of  success.  Wrapt  in  amazement,  the  Indians 
beheld  her  spring  forward;  and  only  exclaiming,  “a  squaw, 
a  squaw,”  no  attempt  was  made  to  interrupt  her  progress. 
Arrived  at  the  door,  she  proclaimed  her  embassy.  Col. 
Zane  fastened  a  table  cloth  around  her  waist,  and  empty¬ 
ing  into  it  a  keg  of  powder,  again  she  ventured  forth. 
The  Indians  were  no  longer  passive.  Ball  after  ball  passed 
whizzing  and  innocuous  by.  She  reached  the  gate  and 

entered  the  fort  in  safetv! 

«/ 

Another  instance  of  heroic  daring,  deserves  to  be  re¬ 
corded  [265]  here.  When  intelligence  of  the  investiture 
of  Wheeling  by  the  savages,  reached  Shepherd’s  fort,  a 
party  was  immediately  detached  from  it,  to  try  and  gain 
admission  into  the  besieged  fortress,  and  aid  in  its  defence. 
Upon  arriving  in  view,  it  was  found  that  the  attempt 
would  be  hopeless  and  unavailing,  and  the  detachment 
consequently  prepared  to  return.  Francis  Duke,  (son-in- 
law  to  Colonel  Shepherd)  was  unwilling  to  turn  his  back 
on  a  people,  straitened  as  he  knew  the  besieged  must  be, 
and  declared  his  intention  of  endeavoring  to  reach  the 
fort,  that  he  might  contribute  to  its  defence.  It  was  use¬ 
less  to  disuade  him  from  the  attempt ; — he  knew  its  danger, 

1  [264]  This  heroine  had  but  recently  returned  from  Philadelphia, 
where  she  had  received  her  education,  and  was  totally  unused  to  such 
scenes  as  were  daily  exhibiting  on  the  frontier.  She  afterwards  be¬ 
came  the  wife  of  Mr.  McGlanlin;  and  he  dying,  she  married  a  Mr. 
Clarke,  und  is  yet  living  in  Ohio. 


360 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


but  he  also  knew  their  weakness,  and  putting  spurs  to  his 
horse,  rode  briskly  forward,  calling  aloud,  “  open  the  gate, — 
open  the  gate.”  lie  was  seen  from  the  fort,  and  the  gate 
was  loosed  for  bis  admission ;  but  he  did  not  live  to  reach 
it. — Pierced  by  the  bullets  of  the  savages,  he  fell,  to  the 
regret  of  all.  Such  noble  daring,  deserved  a  better  fate. 

During  that  night  and  the  next  day,  the  Indians  still 
maintained  the  seige,  and  made  frequent  attempts  to  take 
the  fort  by  storm  ;  but  they  were  invareiably  repulsed  by 
the  deadly  fire  of  the  garrison  and  the  few  brave  men  in 
Colonel  Zane’s  house.  On  the  third  night,  despairing  of 
success,  they  resolved  on  raising  the  siege;  and  leaving 
one  hundred  chosen  warriors  to  scour  and  lay  waste  the 
country,  the  remainder  of  their  army  retreated  across  the 
Ohio,  and  encamped  at  the  Indian  Spring, — five  miles  from 
the  river.  Their  loss  in  the  various  assaults  upon  the  fort, 
could  not  be  ascertained;  but  was  doubtless  very  consider¬ 
able.  Of  the  garrison,  none  were  killed  and  only  two 
wounded, — the  heroic  Francis  Duke  was  the  only  white 
who  fell  during  the  siege.  The  gallantry  displayed  by  all, 
both  men  and  women,  in  the  defence  of  the  fort,  can  not 
be  too  highly  commended ;  but  to  the  caution  and  good  con¬ 
duct  of  those  few  brave  individuals  who  occupied  Colonel 
Zane’s  house,  its  preservation  has  been  mainly  attributed. 

In  the  evening  preceding  the  departure  of  the  savages 
from  before  Wheeling,  two  white  men,  who  had  been 
among  them  for  several  years,  and  then  held  commands  in 
the  army,  deserted  from  them,  and  on  the  next  morning 
early  were  taken  prisoners  by  Colonel  Swearingen,  who, 
with  ninety-five  men,  was  on  his  way  to  aid  in  the  defence 
of  Wheeling  fort,  and  the  chastisement  of  its  assailants. 
Learning  from  them  [266]  the  determination  of  the  savages 
to  withdraw  from  Wheeling,  and  detach  a  portion  of  their 
force  to  operate  in  the  country,  he  despatched  runners  in 
every  direction  to  alarm  the  country  and  apprize  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  danger.1  The  intelligence  was  received  by 

1  See  p.  224,  note  1,  for  reference  to  confusion  between  the  two 
sieges  of  Wheeling,  and  the  over-statement  of  early  border  historians.— 
R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


361 


Jacob  Miller  when  some  distance  from  home,  but  appre¬ 
hensive  that  the  meditated  blow  would  be  aimed  at  the 
fort  where  he  resided,  he  hastened  thither,  and  arrived  in 
time  to  aid  in  preparing  for  its  defence. 

The  place  against  which  the  savages  directed  their 
operations,  was  situated  on  Buffaloe  creek,  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles  from  its  enterance  into  the  Ohio,  and  was  known  as 
Rice's  fort.  Until  Miller’s  return  there  were  in  it  only  five 
men ;  the  others  having  gone  to  Hagerstown  to  exchange 
their  peltries,  for  salt,  iron  and  ammunition.  They  im¬ 
mediately  set  about  making  preparations  to  withstand  an 
assault;  and  in  a  little  while,  seeing  the  savages  approach¬ 
ing  from  every  direction,  forsook  the  cabins  and  repaired 
to  the  blockhouse.  The  Indians  perceived  that  they  were 
discovered,  and  thinking  to  take  the  station  by  storm, 
shouted  forth  the  war  whoop  and  rushed  to  the  assault. 
They  were  answered  by  the  fire  of  the  six  brave  and  skilful 
riflemen  in  tbe  house,  and  forced  to  take  refuge  behind 
trees  and  fallen  timber.  Still  they  continued  the  firing; 
occasionally  calling  on  the  whites  to  “  give  up,  give  up.  In¬ 
dian  too  many.  Indian  too  big.  Give  up.  Indian  no  kill.” 
The  men  had  more  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  their  guns  to  pur¬ 
chase  their  safety,  than  in  the  proferred  mercy  of  the  sav¬ 
ages  ;  and  instead  of  complying  with  their  demand,  called 
on  them,  “  as  cowards  skulking  behind  logs  to  leave  their 
coverts,  and  shew  but  their  }7ellow  hides,  and  they  would 
make  holes  in  them.” 

The  firing  was  kept  up  by  the  savages  from  their  pro¬ 
tected  situation,  until  night,  and  whenever  even  a  remote 
prospect  of  galling  them  was  presented  to  the  whites,  they 
did  not  fail  to  avail  themselves  of  it.  The  Indian  shots  in 
the  evening,  were  directed  principally  against  the  stock  as 
it  came  up  as  usual  to  the  station,  and  the  field  was  strewed 
with  its  dead  carcases.  About  ten  o’clock  of  the  night 
they  fired  a  large  barn  (thirty  or  forty  yards  from  the 
blockhouse)  filled  with  grain  and  hay,  and  the  flames  from 
which  seemed  for  awhile  to  endanger  the  fort;  but  being 
situated  on  higher  ground,  and  the  current  of  air  flowing 
in  a  contrary  direction,  it  escaped  conflagration.  Collect¬ 
ing  on  the  side  of  the  fort  opposite  [267]  to  the  fire,  the 


362 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Indians  took  advantage  of  the  light  it  afforded  them  to 
renew  the  attack  ;  and  kept  it  up  until  about  two  o’clock, 
when  they  departed.  Their  ascertained  loss  was  four  war¬ 
riors, — three  of  whom  were  killed  by  the  first  firing  of 
the  whites, — the  other  about  sundown.  George  Fole- 
baum  was  the  only  white  who  suffered.  Early  in  the  at¬ 
tack,  he  was  shot  in  the  forehead,  through  a  port-hole,  and 
instantly  expired ;  leaving  Jacob  Miller,  George  Lefiier, 
Peter  Fullenwieder,  Daniel  Pice  and  Jacob  Lefiier,  junior, 
sole  defenders  of  the  fort;  and  bravely  and  effectually  did 
they  preserve  it,  from  the  furious  assaults  of  one  hundred 
chosen  savage  warriors. 

Soon  after  the  Indians  left  Pice’s  fort,  they  moved 
across  the  hills  in  different  directions  and  in  detached 
parties.  One  of  these  observing  four  men  proceeding  to¬ 
wards  the  fort  which  they  had  lately  left,  waylaid  the 
path  and  killed  two  of  them  on  the  first  fire.  The  re¬ 
maining  two  fled  hastily;  and  one  of  them  swift  of  foot, 
soon  made  his  escape.  The  other,  closely  pursued  by  one 
of  the  savages,  and  in  danger  of  being  overtaken,  wheeled 
to  fire.  Ilis  gun  snapped,  and  he  again  took  to  flight. 
Yet  more  closely  pressed  by  his  pursuer,  he  once  more  at¬ 
tempted  to  shoot.  Again  his  gun  snapped,  and  the  savage 
being  now  near  enough,  hurled  a  tomahawk  at  his  head. 
It  missed  its  object  and  both  strained  every  nerve  for  the 
chase.  The  Indian  gained  rapidly  upon  him;  and  reach¬ 
ing  forth  his  arm,  caught  hold  of  the  end  of  his  belt.  It 
had  been  tied  in  a  bow-knot,  and  came  loose. — Sensible 
that  the  race  must  soon  terminate  to  his  disadvantage  un¬ 
less  he  could  kill  his  pursuer,  the  white  man  once  more 
tried  his  gun.  It  fired;  and  the  savage  fell  dead  at  his 
feet. 

Some  time  in  the  summer  of  this  year,  a  party  of  Wy- 
andots,  consisting  of  seven  warriors,  (five  of  whom  were, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  chiefs  of  that  nation  and  his 
four  brothers)  came  into  one  of  the  intermediate  settle¬ 
ments  between  Fort  Pitt  and  Wheeling,  killed  an  old  man 
whom  they  found  alone,  robbed  his  cabin,  and  commenced 
retreating  with  the  plunder.  They  were  soon  discovered 
by  spies ;  and  eight  men,  two  of  whom  were  Adam  and 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


363 


Andrew  Poe,  (brothers,  remarkable  for  uncommon  size,, 
great  activity,  and  undaunted  bravery)  went  in  pursuit  of 
them.  Coming  on  their  trail  not  far  from  the  Ohio,  Adam 
Poe,  fearing  an  ambuscade,  left  his  companions  [268]  to 
follow  it,  while  he  moved  across  to  the  river  under  cover 
of  the  high  weeds  and  bushes,  with  the  view  to  attack 
them  in  the  rear  should  he  find  them  situated  as  he  ex¬ 
pected. — Presently  he  espied  an  Indian  raft  at  the  water’s 
edge,  but  seeing  nothing  of  the  savages,  moved  cautiously 
down  the  bank;  and  when  near  the  foot,  discovered  the 
large  Wyandot  chief  and  a  small  Indian  standing  near 
and  looking  intently  towards  the  party  of  whites,  then 
some  distance  lower  down  the  bottom.  Poe  raised  his 
gun,  and  aiming  surely  at  the  chief,  pulled  trigger.  It 
missed  fire,  and  the  snap  betrayed  his  presence.  Too  near 
to  retreat,  he  sprang  forward;  and  seizing  the  large  Indian 
by  the  breast,  and  at  the  same  instant  encircling  his  arms 
around  the  neck  of  the  smaller  one,  threw  them  both  to 
the  ground.  Extricating  himself  from  the  grasp  of  Poe, 
the  small  savage  raised  his  tomahawk ;  but  as  he  aimed 
the  blow,  a  vigorous  and  well  directed  kick,  staggered 
him  back,  and  he  let  fall  the  hatchet.  Recovering  quickly, 
he  aimed  several  blows  in  defiance  and  exultation, — the 
vigilance  of  Poe  distinguished  the  real  from  the  feigned 
stroke,  and  suddenly  throwing  up  his  arm,  averted  it  from 
his  head,  but  received  a  wound  in  his  wrist.  By  a  violent 
effort,  he  freed  himself  from  the  grip  of  the  chief,  and 
snatching  up  a  gun,  shot  his  companion  through  the 
breast,  as  he  advanced  the  third  time  with  the  tomahawk. 

In  this  time  the  large  chief  had  regained  his  feet ;  and 
seizing  Poe  by  the  shoulder  and  leg  threw  him  to  the 
ground. — Poe  however,  soon  got  up,  and  engaged  with 
the  savage  in  a  close  struggle,  which  terminated  in  the  fall 
of  both  into  the  water.  How  it  became  the  object  of  each 
to  drown  his  antagonist,  and  the  efforts  to  accomplish  this 
were  continued  for  some  time  with  alternate  success; — 
first  one  and  then  the  other,  being  under  water.  At  length, 
catching  hold  of  the  long  tuft  of  hair  which  had  been, 
suffered  to  grow  on  the  head  of  the  chief,  Poe  held  him 
under  water,  until  he  supposed  him  dead;  but  relaxing 


364 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


his  hold  too  soon,  the  gigantic  savage  was  again  on  his 
feet  and  ready  for  another  grapple.  In  this  both  were 
carried  beyond  their  depth,  and  had  to  swim  for  safety. 
Both  sought  the  shore,  and  each,  with  all  his  might, 
strained  every  nerve  to  reach  it  first  that  he  might  end 
the  conflict  with  one  of  the  guns  lying  on  the  beach.  The 
Indian  was  the  more  expert  swimmer,  and  Poe,  out¬ 
stripped  by  him,  turned  and  swam  farther  into  the  river, 
in  the  hope  of  avoiding  being  [269]  shot  by  diving. 
Fortunately  his  antagonist  laid  hold  on  the  gun  which  had 
been  discharged  at  the  little  Indian,  and  he  was  enabled 
to  get  some  distance  into  the  river. 

At  this  juncture,  two  others  of  the  whites  came  up; 
and  one  of  them  mistaking  Poe  for  a  wounded  savage  at¬ 
tempting  to  escape,  shot  and  wounded  him  in  the  shoulder. 
He  then  turned  to  make  for  shore,  and  seeing  his  brother 
Andrew  on  the  bank,  called  to  him  to  “  shoot  the  big  In¬ 
dian.”  Having  done  this,  Andrew  plunged  into  the  river 
to  assist  Adam  in  getting  out;  and  the  wounded  savage, 
to  preserve  his  scalp,  rolled  himself  into  the  water,  and 
struggling  onward,  sunk  and  could  not  he  found. 

During  the  continuance  of  this  contest,  the  whites 
had  overtaken  the  other  five  Indians,  and  after  a  desperate 
conflict,  succeeded  in  killing  all  hut  one;  with  the  loss  of 
three  of  their  companions. — A  great  loss,  when  the  num¬ 
ber  engaged  is  taken  into  consideration. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


365 


[270]  CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  which  terminated  so  gloriously  the  war  of 
the  revolution,  did  not  put  a  period  to  Indian  hostilities.1 
The  aid  which  had  been  extended  to  the  savages,  and 
which  enabled  them  so  successfully  to  gratify  their  im¬ 
placable  resentment  against  the  border  country,  being 
withdrawn,  they  were  less  able  to  cope  with  the  whites 
than  they  had  been,  and  were  less  a  hindrance  to  the  pop¬ 
ulation  and  improvement  of  those  sections  of  country 
which  had  been  the  theatre  of  their  many  outrages.  In 
North  Western  Virginia,  indeed,  although  the  war  con¬ 
tinued  to  be  waged  against  its  inhabitants,  yet  it  assumed 
a  different  aspect.  It  became  a  war  rather  of  plunder, 
than  of  blood ;  and  although  in  the  predatory  incursions 
of  the  Indians,  individuals  some  times  fell  a  sacrifice  to 
savage  passion ;  yet  this  was  of  such  rare  occurrence,  that 
the  chronicles  of  those  days  are  divested  of  much  of  the 
interest,  which  attaches  to  a  detail  of  Indian  hostilities. 
For  several  years,  scarce  an  incident  occurred  worthy  of 
being  rescued  from  oblivion. 

In  Kentucky  it  was  far  otherwise.  The  war  continued 
to  be  prosecuted  there,  with  the  wonted  vigor  of  the  sav¬ 
ages. — The  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  having,  at  the 
close  of  the  revolution,  passed  an  act  for  surveying  the 
land  set  apart  for  her  officers  and  soldiers,  south  of  Green 
river,  the  surveyors  descended  to  the  Ohio,  to  explore  the 
country  and  perform  the  duties  assigned  them.  On  their 
arrival  they  found  it  occupied  by  the  savages,  and  acts  of 

1  News  of  the  preliminary  articles  of  peace,  which  had  been  signed 
at  Paris,  November  30,  1782,  did  not  reach  Fort  Pitt  until  May,  1783.  In 
July  following,  De  Peyster,  British  commandant  at  Detroit,  gathered  at 
that  post  the  chiefs  of  eleven  tribes  as  far  south  as  the  Great  Miami  and 
the  Wabash,  and  informed  them  of  the  event. — R.  G.  T. 


366 


Withers's  Chronicles 


hostilities  immediately  [271]  ensued.  In  December,  1783, 
the  Legislature  likewise  passed  an  act,  appropriating  the 
country  between  the  Scioto  and  Miami  rivers,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  satisfying  the  claims  of  the  officers  and  soldiers,  if 
the  land  previously  allotted,  in  Kentucky,  should  prove 
insufficient  for  that  object.  This  led  to  a  confederacy  of 
the  many  tribes  of  Indians,  interested  in  those  sections  of 
country,  and  produced  such  feelings  and  gave  rise  to  such 
acts  of  hostility  on  their  part,  as  induced  Benjamin  Harri¬ 
son  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  November,  1784,  to  recom¬ 
mend  the  postponement  of  the  surveys ;  and  in  January, 
1785,  a  proclamation  was  issued,  by  Patrick  Henry,  (suc¬ 
cessor  of  Gov.  Harrison)  commanding  the  surveyors  to  de¬ 
sist  and  leave  the  country.  A  treaty  was  soon  after  con¬ 
cluded,  by  which  the  country  on  the  Scioto,  Miami,  and 
Muskingum,  was  ceded  to  the  United  States.1  In  this  in¬ 
terval  of  time,  North  Western  Virginia  enjoyed  almost 
uninterrupted  repose.  There  was  indeed  an  alarm  of  In¬ 
dians,  on  Simpson’s  creek  in  1783,  but  it  soon  subsided; 
and  the  circumstance  which  gave  rise  to  it  (the  discharge 
of  a  gun  at  Major  Power)  was  generally  attributed  to  a 
white  man. 

In  1784,  the  settlement  towards  the  head  of  "West  Fork, 
suffered  somewhat  from  savage  invasion.  A  party  of  In¬ 
dians  came  to  the  house  of  Henry  Flesher,  (where  the  town 
of  Weston  now  is)  and  fired  at  the  old  gentleman,  as  he 
was  returning  from  the  labors  of  the  field.  The  gun  dis¬ 
charged  at  him,  had  been  loaded  with  two  balls,  and  both 
taking  effect,  crippled  his  arm  a  good  deal.  Two  savages 
immediately  ran  towards  him;  and  he,  towards  the  door; 
and  just  as  he  was  in  the  act  of  entering  it,  one  of  them 
had  approached  so  closely  as  to  strike  at  him  with  the  butt 
end  of  his  gun.  The  breech  came  first  in  contact  with  the 
facing  of  the  door,  and  descending  on  his  head,  seemed 
to  throw  him  forward  into  the  house,  and  his  wife  closing 

1  The  treaty  was  held  at  Fort  McIntosh,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Beaver, 
early  in  January,  1785.  The  tribes  represented  were  the  Wyandots, 
Chippewas,  Delawares,  and  Ottawas.  The  commissioners  were  Arthur 
Lee,  Richard  Butler,  and  George  Rogers  Clark.  Col.  Josiah  Harmar  was 
in  charge  of  the  troops. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


367 


the  door,  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  savages  to  force  it 
open.  Still,  however,  they  did  not  feel  secure;  and  as 
soon  as  they  became  assured  that  the  savages  were  with¬ 
drawn,  they  left  the  house  and  sought  security  elsewhere. 
Most  of  the  family  lay  in  the  woods  during  the  night, — 
one  young  woman  succeeded  in  finding  the  way  to  Hack¬ 
er’s  creek,  from  whence  Thomas  Hughes  immediately  de¬ 
parted  to  find  the  others.  This  was  effected  early  next 
morning,  and  all  were  safely  escorted  to  that  settlement. 

[272]  The  foregoing  event  happened  in  September,  and 
in  a  few  days  after,  as  Daniel  BadclifF  was  proceeding  to 
the  Brushy  Fork  of  Elk  creek  on  a  hunting  expedition, 
he  was  shot  (probably  by  the  Indians  who  had  been  at 
Flesher’s,)  tomahawked  and  scalped  in  a  shocking  manner. 

In  1785,  six  Indians  came  to  Bingamon  creek,  (a  branch 
of  the  West  Fork)  and  made  their  appearance  upon  a  farm 
occupied  by  Thomas  and  Edward  Cunningham.  At  this 
time  the  two  brothers  were  dwelling  with  their  families 
in  separate  houses,  but  nearly  adjoining,  though  not  in  a 
direct  line  with  each  other.  Thomas  was  then  on  a  trad¬ 
ing  visit  east  of  the  mountain,  and  his  wife  and  four  chil¬ 
dren  were  collected  in  their  room  for  the  purpose  of  eat¬ 
ing  dinner,  as  was  Edward  with  his  family,  in  their  house. 
Suddenly  a  lusty  savage  entered  where  were  Mrs.  Thomas 
Cunningham  and  her  children,  but  seeing  that  he  would 
be  exposed  to  a  fire  from  the  other  house,  and  apprehend¬ 
ing  no  danger  from  the  woman  and  children,  he  closed 
the  door  and  seemed  for  a  time  only  intent  on  the  means 
of  escaping. 

Edward  Cunningham  had  seen  the  savage  enter  his 
brother’s  house,  and  fastened  his  own  door,  seized  his  gun 
and  stepping  to  a  small  aperture  in  the  wall  next  the 
house  in  which  was  the  Indian,  and  which  served  as  well 
for  a  port  hole  as  for  the  admission  of  light,  was  ready  to 
fire  whenever  the  savage  should  make  his  appearance. 
But  in  the  other  house  was  a  like  aperture,  and  through  it 
the  Indian  fired  at  Edward,  and  shouted  the  yell  of  vic¬ 
tory.  It  was  answered  by  Edward.  He  had  seen  the  aim 
of  the  savage  only  in  time  to  avoid  it, — the  bark  from  the 
log  close  to  his  head,  was  knocked  off  by  the  ball  and  flew 


368 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


into  his  face.  The  Indian  seeing  that  he  had  missed  his 
object,  and  observing  an  adze  in  the  room,  deliberately 
commenced  cutting  an  aperture  in  the  back  wall  through 
which  he  might  pass  out  without  being  exposed  to  a  shot 
from  the  other  building.1 

Another  of  the  Indians  came  into  the  yard  just  after  the 
firing  of  his  companion,  but  observing  Edward’s  gun  point¬ 
ing  through  the  port  hole,  he  endeavored  to  retreat  out  of 
its  range.  lie  failed  of  his  purpose.  Just  as  he  was  about 
to  spring  over  the  fence,  the  gun  was  fired  and  he  fell  for¬ 
ward.  The  ball  however  only  fractured  his  thigh  bone, 
and  he  was  yet  able  to  hobble  over  the  fence  and  take 
shelter  behind  a  [273]  coverlet  suspended  on  it,  before  Ed¬ 
ward  could  again  load  his  gun. 

While  the  Indian  was  engaged  in  cutting  a  hole  in  the 
wall,  Mrs.  Cunningham  made  no  attempt  to  get  out.  She 
was  well  aware  that  it  would  draw  down  upon  her  head 
the  fury  of  the  savage;  and  that  if  she  escaped  this,  she 
would  most  probably  be  killed  by  some  of  those  who  were 
watching  around,  before  the  other  door  could  be  opened 
for  her  admission. — She  knew  too,  that  it  was  impossible 
for  her  to  take  the  children  with  her,  and  could  not  brook 
the  idea  of  leaving  them  in  the  hands  of  the  savage  mon¬ 
ster.  She  even  trusted  to  the  hope  that  he  would  with¬ 
draw,  as  soon  as  he  could,  without  molesting  any  of  them. 
A  few  minutes  served  to  convince  her  of  the  fallacy  of  this 
expectation.  When  the  opening  had  been  made  suffi¬ 
ciently  large,  he  raised  his  tomahawk,  sunk  it  deep  into 
the  brains  of  one  of  the  children,  and  throwing  the  scarcely 
lifeless  body  into  the  back  yard,  ordered  the  mother  to 
follow  after.  There  was  no  alternative  but  death,  and  she 
obeyed  his  order,  stepping  over  the  dead  body  of  one  of 
her  children,2  with  an  infant  in  her  arms  and  two  others 

1  L.  V.  McWhorter,  well  informed  in  the  local  traditions,  writes : 
“  When  the  Indian  sprang  into  the  house,  with  drawn  tomahawk,  he 
closed  and  for  a  few  moments  stood  with  his  back  to  the  door.  Then, 
while  cutting  an  opening  through  the  wall,  he  asked  Mrs.  Cunningham 
how  many  men  there  were  in  the  other  house.  She  answered  by  hold¬ 
ing  up  the  extended  fingers  of  both  hands,  indicating  10.” — R.  G.  T. 

2  McWhorter :  “Mrs.  Cunningham  related  that  the  last  she 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


369 


screaming  from  horror  at  the  sight,  and  clinging  to  her. 
When  all  were  out  he  scalped  the  murdered  boy,  and  set¬ 
ting  fire  to  the  house,  retired  to  an  eminence  in  the  field, 
where  two  of  the  savages  were,  with  their  wounded  com¬ 
panion. — leaving  the  other  two  to  watch  the  opening  of 
Edward  Cunningham’s  door,  when  the  burning  of  the 
house  should  force  the  family  from  their  shelter.  They 
were  disappointed  in  their  expectation  of  that  event  by 
the  exertions  of  Cunningham  and  his  son.  When  the 
flame  from  the  one  house  communicated  to  the  roof  of  the 
other,  they  ascended  to  the  loft,  threw  off  the  loose  boards 
which  covered  it,  and  extinguished  the  fire ; — the  savages 
shooting  at  them  all  the  while,  and  their  balls  frequently 
striking  close  by. 

Despairing  of  accomplishing  farther  havoc,  and  fearful 
of  detection  and  pursuit,  the  Indians  collected  together 
and  prepared  to  retreat.  Mrs.  Cunningham’s  eldest  son 
was  first  tomahawked  and  scalped ;  the  fatal  hatchet  sunk 
into  the  head  of  her  little  daughter,  whom  they  then  took 
by  the  arms  and  legs,  and  slinging  it  repeatedly  against  a 
tree,  ended  its  sufferings  with  its  life.  Mrs.  Cunningham 
stood  motionless  with  grief,  and  in  momentary  expectation 
of  having  the  same  dealt  to  her  and  her  innocent  infant. 
But  no!  She  was  [274]  doomed  to  captivity;  and  with  her 
helpless  babe  in  her  arms,  was  led  off  from  this  scene  of 
horror  and  of  wo.  The  wounded  savage  was  carried  on  a 
rough  litter,  and  they  all  departed,  crossing  the  ridge  to 
Bingamon  creek,  near  which  they  found  a  cave  that  af¬ 
forded  them  shelter  and  concealment.* 1  After  night,  they 
returned  to  Edward  Cunningham’s,  and  finding  no  one, 
plundered  and  fired  the  house. 

When  the  savages  withdrew  in  the  evening,  Cunning- 

saw  of  her  little  daughter,  was  one  quivering  little  foot  sticking  up  over 
a  log  behind  which  she  had  been  thrown.” — R.  G.  T. 

1  McWhorter :  “  The  cave  in  which  Mrs.  Cunningham  was 

concealed  is  on  Little  Indian  Run,  a  branch  of  Big  Bingamon  Creek,  on 
which  stream  the  tragedy  took  place.  The  cave  is  about  two  miles  north¬ 
west  of  the  site  of  the  capture,  and  in  Harrison  County,  W.  Va.”— 
R.  G.  T. 

24 


370 


Withers's  Chronicles 


ham  went  with  his  family  into  the  woods,  where  they  re¬ 
mained  all  night,  there  being  no  settlement  nearer  than 
eight  or  ten  miles.  In  the  morning,  proceeding  to  the 
nearest  house,  they  gave  the  alarm  and  a  company  of  men 
was  soon  collected  to  go  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  When 
they  came  to  Cunningham’s  and  found  both  houses  heaps 
of  ashes,  they  buried  the  bones  which  remained  of  the  boy 
who  was  murdered  in  the  house,  with  the  bodies  of  his 
brother  and  little  sister,  who  were  killed  in  the  field;  but 
so  cautiously  had  the  savages  conducted  their  retreat  that 
no  traces  of  them  could  be  discovered,  and  the  men  re¬ 
turned  to  their  homes. 

Some  days  after,  circumstances  induced  the  belief  that 
the  Indians  were  yet  in  the  neighborhood,  and  men  were 
again  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  tracing  them.  They 
were  now  enabled  to  distinguish  the  trail,  and  pursued  it 
near  to  the  cave,  where  from  the  number  of  rocks  on  the 
ground  and  the  care  which  had  been  taken  by  the  Indians 
to  leave  no  vestige,  they  could  no  longer  discover  it.  They 
however  examined  for  it  in  every  direction  until  night 
forced  them  to  desist.  In  thinking  over  the  incidents  of 
the  day;  the  cave  occurred  to  the  mind  of  Major  Robin¬ 
son,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  woods,  and  he  con¬ 
cluded  that  the  savages  must  be  concealed  in  it.  It  was 
examined  early  next  morning,  but  they  had  left  it  the  pre¬ 
ceding  night  and  departed  for  their  towns.  After  her  re¬ 
turn  from  captivity,  Mrs.  Cunningham  stated,  that  in  time 
of  the  search  on  the  day  before,  the  Indians  were  in  the 
cave,  and  that  several  times  the  whites  approached  so  near, 
that  she  could  distinctly  hear  their  voices ;  the  savages 
standing  with  their  guns  ready  to  fire,  in  the  event  of  their 
being  discovered,  and  forcing  her  to  keep  the  infant  to  her 
breast,  lest  its  crying  might  point  to  the  place  of  their  con¬ 
cealment.1 

In  consequence  of  their  stay  at  this  place  on  account 
of  their  wounded  companion,  it  was  some  time  before  they 

1  McWhorter:  “  Mrs.  Cunningham  stated  that  an  Indian  stood  over 
her  with  an  uplifted  tomahawk,  to  prevent  her  from  crying  out.  At 
times,  the  whites  were  upon  the  very  rock  above  their  heads.” — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


371 


arrived  [275]  in  their  own  country;1  and  Mrs.  Cunning¬ 
ham’s  sufferings,  of  body  as  well  as  mind  were  truly  great. 
Fatigue  and  hunger  oppressed  her  sorely, — the  infant  in 
her  arms,  wanting  the  nourishment  derived  from  the  due 
sustenance  of  the  mother,  plied  at  the  breast  for  milk,  in 
vain — blood  came  in  stead ;  and  the  Indians  perceiving 
this,  put  a  period  to  its  sufferings,  with  the  tomahawk, 
even  while  clinging  to  its  mother’s  bosom.  It  was  cast  a 
little  distance  from  the  path,  and  left  without  a  leaf  or 
bush  to  hide  it  from  beasts  of  prey. 

The  anguish  of  this  woman  during  the  journey  to  the 
towns,  can  only  be  properly  estimated  by  a  parent ;  her 
bodily  sufferings  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact,  that  for 
ten  days  her  only  sustenance  consisted  of  the  head  of  a 
wTild  turkey  and  three  papaws,  and  from  the  circumstance 
that  the  skin  and  nails  of  her  feet,  scalded  by  frequent 
wading  of  the  water,  came  with  her  stockings,  when  upon 
their  arrival  at  a  village  of  the  Delawares,  she  was  per¬ 
mitted  to  draw  them  off*.  Yet  was  she  forced  to  continue 
on  with  them  the  next  day. — One  of  the  Indians  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  village  where  they  were,  by  an  application  of 
some  sanative  herbs,  very  much  relieved  the  pain  which 
she  endured. 

When  she  came  to  the  town  of  those  by  whom  she 
had  been  made  prisoner,  although  receiving  no  barbarous 
or  cruel  usage,  yet  everything  indicated  to  her,  that  she 
was  reserved  for  some  painful  torture.  The  wounded  In¬ 
dian  had  been  left  behind,  and  she  was  delivered  to  his 
father.  Her  clothes  were  not  changed,  as  is  the  case  when 
a  prisoner  is  adopted  by  them ;  but  she  was  compelled  to 
wear  them,  dirty  as  they  were, — a  bad  omen  for  a  captive. 
She  was  however,  not  long  in  apprehension  of  a  wretched 
fate.  A  conference  was  soon  to  take  place  between  the 
Indians  and  whites,  preparatory  to  a  treaty  of  peace ;  and 

1  McWhorter  says  local  tradition  has  it  that  the  Indians  remained  in 
the  cave  a  night  and  a  day  ;  they  departed  before  daylight,  during  the 
second  night.  Mrs.  Cunningham  related  that  just  before  leaving,  the 
wounded  brave  was  borne  from  the  cave  by  his  fellows,  and  she  never 
again  saw  him ;  her  opinion  was,  that  he  was  then  dead,  and  his  body 
was  sunk  in  a  neighboring  pool. — R.  G.  T. 


372 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


witnessing  an  uncommon  excitement  in  the  village  one 
evening,  upon  inquiring,  learned  that  the  Great  captain 
Simon  Girty  had  arrived.  She  determined  to  prevail  with 
him,  if  she  could,  to  intercede  for  her  liberation,  and  seeing 
him  next  day  passing  near  on  horseback,  she  laid  hold  on 
his  stirrup,  and  implored  his  interference.  For  a  while  he 
made  light  of  her  petition, — telling  her  that  she  would  be 
as  well  there  as  in  her  own  country,  and  that  if  he  were  dis¬ 
posed  to  do  her  a  kindness  he  could  not  as  his  saddle  bags 
were  too  small  to  conceal  her;  but  her  importunity  at  length 
prevailed,  and  he  whose  heart  had  been  so  long  steeled 
[276]  against  every  kindly  feeling,  every  sympathetic  im¬ 
pression,  was  at  length  induced  to  perform  an  act  of  gen¬ 
erous,  disinterested  benevolence.  He  paid  her  ransom, 
had  her  conveyed  to  the  commissioners  for  negotiating 
with  the  Indians,  and  by  them  she  was  taken  to  a  station 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Ohio.1  Here  she  met  with  two 
gentlemen  (Long  and  Denton)  who  had  been  at  the  treaty 
to  obtain  intelligence  of  their  children  taken  captive 
some  time  before,  but  not  being  able  to  gain  any  informa¬ 
tion  respecting  them,  they  were  then  returning  to  the  in¬ 
terior  of  Kentucky  and  kindly  furnished  her  a  horse. 

In  consequence  of  the  great  danger  attending  a  jour¬ 
ney  through  the  wilderness  which  lay  between  the  settle¬ 
ments  in  Kentucky  and  those  on  the  Holstein,  persons 
scarcely  ever  performed  it  but  at  particular  periods  of  the 
year,  and  in  caravans,  the  better  to  defend  themselves 
against  attacks  of  savages.  Kotice  of  the  time  and  place 
of  the  assembling  of  one  of  these  parties  being  given,  Mrs. 
Cunningham  prepared  to  accompany  it;  but  before  that  time 
arrived,  they  were  deterred  from  the  undertaking  by  the 
report  that  a  company  of  travellers,  stronger  than  theirs 
would  be,  had  been  encountered  by  the  Indians,  and  all 
either  killed  or  made  prisoners.  Soon  after  another  party 

1  Mrs.  Cunningham  had  been  over  three  years  with  the  savages, 
when  she  was  taken  to  a  great  Indian  conference  held  at  the  foot  of 
the  Maumee  rapids,  “  at  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  Perrysburgh, 
Ohio,”  in  the  autumn  of  1788.  Girty  brought  the  attention  of  McKee, 
then  a  British  Indian  agent,  to  the  matter,  and  McKee  furnished  the 
trinkets  which  constituted  the  ransom. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


373 


resolved  on  a  visit  to  Virginia,  and  Mrs.  Cunningham  was 
furnished  a  horse  belonging  to  a  gentleman  on  Holstein 
(which  had  escaped  from  him  while  on  a  buffalo  hunt  in 
Kentucky  and  was  found  after  his  return,)  to  carry  her 
that  far  on  her  way  home.  Experiencing  the  many  un¬ 
pleasant  circumstances  incident  to  such  a  jaunt,  she  reached 
Holstein,  and  from  thence,  after  a  repose  of  a  few  days, 
keeping  up  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  she  proceeded  by  the 
way  of  Shenandoah,  to  the  county  of  Harrison.1  Here 
she  was  sadly  disappointed  in  not  meeting  with  her  hus¬ 
band.  Having  understood  that  she  had  been  ransomed 
and  taken  to  Kentucky,  he  had,  some  time  before,  gone  on 
in  quest  of  her.  Anxiety  for  his  fate,  alone  and  on  a  journey 
which  she  well  knew  to  be  fraught  with  many  dangers, 
she  could  not  cheerily  partake  of  the  general  joy  excited 
by  her  return.  In  a  few  days  however,  he  came  back.  He 
had  heard  on  Holstein  of  her  having  passed  there  and  he 
retraced  his  steps.  Arriving  at  his  brother  Edward’s,  he 
again  enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  being  with  all  that  was 
then  dear  to  him  on  earth.  It  was  a  delightful  satisfac¬ 
tion,  but  presently  damped  by  the  recollection  of  [277]  the 
fate  of  his  luckless  children — Time  assuaged  the  bitterness 
of  the  recollection  and  blessed  him  with  other  and  more 
fortunate  children.2 

In  October  1784,  a  party  of  Indians  ascended  Sandy 
river  and  passing  over  to  the  head  of  Clynch,  came  to  the 
settlement  near  where  Tazewell  court  house  is  now  located. 
Going  first  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Davisson,  they  killed  him 
and  his  wife ;  and  setting  fire  to  their  dwelling,  proceeded 
towards  the  residence  of  James  Moore,  sr.  On  their  way 
they  met  Moore  salting  his  horses  at  a  lick  trough  in  the 
woods,  and  killed  him.  They  then  wTent  to  the  house  and 
captured  Mrs.  Moore  and  her  seven  children,  and  Sally 

1  See  McKnight’s  Our  Western  Border ,  pp.  714,  716. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Superstition  was  rife  among  the  Scotch-Irish  borderers.  McWhorter 
writes :  “  On  the  day  before  the  capture,  a  little  bird  came  into  Mrs.  Cun¬ 
ningham’s  cabin  and  fluttered  around  the  room.  Ever  afterwards,  she 
grew  frightened  whenever  a  bird  would. enter  her  house.  The  fear  that 
such  an  occurrence  would  bring  bad  luck  to  a  household,  was  an  old  and 
widely-spread  superstition.” — R.  G.  T. 


374 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Ivens,  a  young  lady  who  was  there  on  a  visit.  Fearing' 
detection,  they  immediately  departed  for  Ohio  with  the 
prisoners;  and  in  order  to  expedite  their  retreat,  killed 
John  Moore,  jr.  and  the  three  younger  children. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  the  Shawanee  town  on  the  Scioto 
(near  the  mouth  of  Paint  creek)  a  council  was  held,  and  it  ' 
was  resolved  that  two  of  the  captives  should  be  burned 
alive ,  to  avenge  the  death  of  some  of  their  warriors  wTho 
had  been  killed  on  the  Kentucky  river.  This  dreadful 
doom  was  allotted  to  Mrs.  Moore  and  her  daughter  Jane, — 
an  interesting  girl  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  They  were 
tied  to  a  post  and  tortured  to  death  with  burning  splinters 
of  pine,  in  the  presence  of  the  remaining  members  of  the 
family. 

After  the  death  of  his  mother  and  sister,  James  Moore 
was  sent  to  the  Maumee  towns  in  Michigan,  where  he  re¬ 
mained  until  December  1785, — his  sister  Mary  and  Sally 
Ivins  remaining  with  the  Shawanees.  In  December  1786, 
they  were  all  brought  to  Augusta  county  in  conformity 
with  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  Miami,  and  ransomed 
by  their  friends.1 

In  the  fall  of  1796,  John  Ice  and  James  Snodgrass  were 
killed  by  the  Indians  when  looking  for  their  horses  which 
they  [278]  had  lost  on  a  buffalo  hunt  on  Fishing  creek.. 
Their  remains  were  afterwards  found — the  flesh  torn  from 
the  bones  by  the  wolves — and  buried. 

In  a  few  days  after  Ice  and  Snodgrass  left  home  in 
quest  of  their  horses,  a  party  of  Indians  came  to  Buffalo 
creek  in  Monongalia,  and  meeting  with  Mrs.  Dragoo  and 
her  son  in  a  corn  field  gathering  beans,  took  them  pris¬ 
oners,  and  supposing  that  their  detention  would  induce 
others  to  look  for  them,  they  waylaid  the  path  leading 

[277]  1  Mary  Moore  afterwards  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Brown,  a  pres- 
byterian  preacher  in  Augusta.  Her  brother  James  Moore,  jr.,  still  resides 
in  Tazewell  county ;  and  notwithstanding  that  he  witnessed  the  cruel 
murder  of  his  mother  and  five  brothers  and  sisters  by  the  hands  of  the 
savages,  he  is  said  to  have  formed  and  still  retain  a  strong  attachment  to 
the  Indians.  The  anniversary  of  the  burning  of  Mrs.  Moore  &  her 
daughter,  is  kept  by  many  in  Tazewell  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer ; 
and  that  tragical  event  gave  rise  to  some  affecting  verses,  generally 
called  “  Moore’s  Lamentation.” 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


0*7  .7 

<jiO 

from  the  house.  According  to  their  expectation,  uneasy 
at  their  continued  absence,  Jacob  Strait  and  Nicholas 
Wood  went  to  ascertain  its  cause.  As  they  approached 
the  Indians  fired  from  their  covert,  and  Wood  fell; — Strait 
taking  to  flight  was  soon  overtaken.  Mrs.  Strait  and  her 
daughter,  hearing  the  firing  and  seeing  the  savages  in 
pursuit  of  Mr.  Strait,  betook  themselves  also  to  flight,  but 
were  discovered  by  some  of  the  Indians  who  immediately 
ran  after  them.  The  daughter  concealed  herself  in  a 
thicket  of  bushes  and  escaped  observation.  Her  mother 
sought  concealment  under  a  large  shelving  rock,  and  was 
not  afterwards  discovered  by  the  savages,  although  those 
in  pursuit  of  her  husband,  passed  near  and  overtook  him 
not  far  oft*.  Indeed  she  was  at  that  time  so  close,  as  to 
hear  Mr.  Strait  say,  when  overtaken,  “  don’t  kill  me  and  I 
will  go  with  you and  the  savage  replying  “  will  you  go 
with  me,”  she  heard  the  fatal  blow  which  deprived  her 
husband  of  life. 

Mrs.  Dragoo  being  infirm  and  unable  to  travel  to  their 
towns,  was  murdered  on  the  way.  Her  son  (a  lad  of  seven) 
remained  with  the  Indians  upwards  of  twenty  years, — he 
married  a  squaw,  by  whom  he  had  four  children, — two  of 
whom  he  brought  home  with  him,  when  he  forsook  the 
Indians. 

In  1787  the  Indians  again  visited  the  settlement  on 
Buffaloe,  and  as  Levi  Morgan  was  engaged  in  skining  a 
wolf  which  he  had  just  taken  from  his  trap,  he  saw  three 
of  them — one  riding  a  horse  which  he  well  knew,  the  other 
two  walking  near  behind — coming  towards  him.  On  first 
looking  in  the  direction  they  were  coming,  he  recognized 
the  horse,  and  supposed  the  rider  to  be  its  owner — one  of 
his  near  neighbors.  A  second  glance  discovered  the  mis¬ 
take,  and  he  siezed  his  gun  and  sprang  behind  a  large 
rock, — the  Indians  at  the  same  instant  taking  shelter  by 
the  side  of  a  large  tree. — As  soon  as  his  body  was  obscured 
from  their  view,  he  turned,  and  seeing  the  Indians  looking 
towards  the  farther  end  of  the  [279]  rocks  as  if  expecting 
him  to  make  his  appearance  there,  he  fired  and  one  of 
them  fell.  Instantly  he  had  recourse  to  his  powder  horn 
to  reload,  but  while  engaged  in  skinning  the  wolf  the  stop- 


37G 


Withers's  Chronicles 


per  had  fallen  out  and  his  powder  was  wasted.  lie  then 
lied,  and  one  of  the  savages  took  after  him.  For  some 
time  he  held  to  his  gun;  hut  finding  his  pursuer  sensibly 
gaining  on  him,  he  dropped  it  under  the  hope  that  it  would 
attract  the  attention  of  the  Indian  and  give  him  a  better 
chance  of  escape.  The  savage  passed  heedlessly  by  it. 
Morgan  then  threw  his  shot  pouch  and  coat  in  the  way,  to 
tempt  the  Indian  to  a  momentary  delay.  It  was  equally 
vain, — his  pursuer  did  not  falter  for  an  instant.  He  now 
had  recourse  to  another  expedient  to  save  himself  from 
captivity  or  death.  Arriving  at  the  summit  of  the  hill  up 
which  he  had  directed  his  steps,  he  halted ;  and,  as  if  some 
men  w^ere  approaching  from  the  other  side,  called  aloud, 
“come  on,  come  on;  here  is  one,  make  haste.”  The  In¬ 
dian  not  doubting  that  he  was  really  calling  to  some  men 
at  hand,  turned  and  retreated  as  precipitately  as  he  had 
advanced;  and  when  he  heard  Morgan  exclaim,  “shoot 
quick,  or  he  will  be  out  of  reach,”  he  seemed  to  redouble 
his  exertion  to  gain  that  desirable  distance.  Pleased  with 
the  success  of  the  artifice,  Morgan  hastened  home;  leav¬ 
ing  his  coat  and  gun  to  reward  the  savage  for  the  decep¬ 
tion  practised  on  him.1 

In  September  of  this  year,  a  party  of  Indians  were 
discovered  in  the  act  of  catching  some  horses  on  the  West 
Fork  above  Clarksburg;  and  a  company  of  men  led  on  by 
Col.  Lowther,  wrent  immediately  in  pursuit  of  them.2  On 
the  third  night  the  Indians  and  whites,  unknown  to  each 
other,  encamped  not  far  apart;  and  in  the  morning  the 
fires  of  the  latter  being  discovered  by  Elias  Hughes,  the 
detachment  which  was  accompanying  him  fired  upon  the 
camp,  and  one  of  the  savages  fell.  The  remainder  taking 

[279]  1  At  the  treaty  of  An  Glaize,  Morgan  met  with  the  Indian  who 
had  given  him  this  chase,  and  who  still  had  his  gun.  After  talking  over 
the  circumstance,  rather  more  composedly  than  they  had  acted  it,  they 
agreed  to  test  each  other’s  speed  in  a  friendly  race.  The  Indian  being 
beaten,  rubbed  his  hams  and  said,  “stiff,  stiff;  too  old,  too  old”  “Well, 
said  Morgan,  you  got  the  gun  by  outrunning  me  then,  and  I  should  have 
it  now  for  outrunning  you;”  and  accordingly  took  it. 

2  McWhorter:  “Alexander  West  was  with  Col.  William  Lowther  on 
this  expedition.  They  followed  the  Indians  to  the  Little  Kanawha 
Kiver.”— R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


377 


to  flight,  one  of  them  passed  near  to  where  Col.  Lowther 
and  the  other  men  were,  and  the  Colonel  firing  at  him  as 
he  ran,  the  ball  entering  at  his  shoulder,  perforated  him, 
and  he  fell.  The  horses  and  plunder  which  had  been  taken 
by  the  savages,  were  then  collected  by  the  whites,  and  they 
commenced  their  return  home,  in  the  confidence  of  false 
security.  They  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  two  guns 
were  unexpectedly  fired  at  them,  and  John  Bonnet  fell, 
pierced  through  the  body.  He  died  before  he  reached 
home.1 

[280]  The  Indians  never  thought  the  whites  justifiable 
in  flying  to  arms  to  punish  them  for  acts  merely  of  rapine. 
They  felt  authorized  to  levy  contributions  of  this  sort,  when- 
-ever  an  occasion  served,  viewing  property  thus  acquired  as 
(to  use  their  own  expression)  the  “  only  rent  which  they  re¬ 
ceived  for  their  lands  and  if  when  detected  in  secretly 
exacting  them,  their  blood  paid  the  penalty,  they  were 
sure  to  retaliate  with  tenfold  fury,  on  the  first  favorable 
opportunity.  The  murder  of  these  two  Indians  by  Hughes 
and  Lowther  was  soon  followed  by  acts  of  retribution, 
which  are  believed  to  have  been,  at  least  mediately,  pro¬ 
duced  by  them. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  a  party  of  Indians  and  one 
white  man  (Leonard  Schoolcraft)  came  into  the  settlement 
on  Hacker’s  creek,  and  meeting  with  a  daughter  of  Jesse 
Hughes,  took  her  prisoner.  Passing  on,  they  came  upon 
E.  West,  Senr.  carrying  some  fodder  to  the  stable,  and 
taking  him  likewise  captive,  carried  him  to  where  Hughes’ 
daughter  had  been  left  in  charge  of  some  of  their  party. — 
Here  the  old  gentleman  fell  upon  his  knees  and  expressed 
a  fervent  wish  that  they  would  not  deal  harshly  by  him. 

1  Another  case  of  border  superstition  is  related  to  me  by  McWhorter. 
Alexander  West  had  been  doing  sentry  duty  most  of  the  night  before, 
and  on  being  relieved  early  in  the  morning,  sat  with  his  back  to  a  tree 
and,  rifle  across  his  lap,  fell  to  sleep.  On  awakening  he  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  cried,  “  Boys,  look  out!  Some  of  us  will  be  killed  to-day  !  I 
saw  the  red  doe  in  my  dream  ;  that  is  the  sign  of  death ;  I  never  knew  it 
to  fail !  ”  When  Bonnett  fell,  it  was  considered  in  camp  to  be  a  verifica¬ 
tion  of  the  “  red  sign.”  Bonnett  was  carried  by  his  comrades  on  a  rude 
stretcher,  but  in  four  days  died.  His  body  was  placed  in  a  cleft  of  rock 
and  the  entrance  securely  chinked. — R.  G.  T. 


378 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Ilis  petition  was  answered  by  a  stroke  of  the  tomahawk, 
and  lie  fell  dead. 

They  then  went  to  the  house  of  Edmund  West,  Jun. 
where  were  Mrs.  West  and  her  sister  (a  girl  of  eleven 
years  old,  daughter  of  John  Hacker)  and  a  lad  of  twelve, 
a  brother  of  West.  Forcing  open  the  door,  Schoolcraft 
and  two  of  the  savages  entered;  and  one  of  them  im¬ 
mediately  tomahawked  Mrs.  West.  The  boy  was  taking 
some  corn  from  under  the  bed, — he  was  drawn  out  by  the 
feet  and  the  tomahawk  sank  twice  in  his  forehead,  directly 
above  each  eye.  The  girl  was  standing  behind  the  door. 
One  of  the  savages  approached  and  aimed  at  her  a  blow. 
She  tried  to  evade  it ;  but  it  struck  on  the  side  of  her  neck, 
though  not  with  sufficient  force  to  knock  her  down.  She 
fell  however,  and  lay  as  if  killed.  Thinking  their  work  of 
death  accomplished  here,  they  took  from  a  press  some 
milk,  butter  and  bread,  placed  it  on  the  table,  and  delib¬ 
erately  sat  down  to  eat, — the  little  girl  observing  all  that 
passed,  in  silent  stillness.  When  they  had  satisfied  their 
hunger,  they  arose,  scalped  the  woman  and  boy,  plundered 
the  house — even  emptying  the  feathers  to  carry  off  the  tick¬ 
ing — and  departed,  dragging  the  little  girl  by  the  hair,  forty 
or  fifty  yards  from  the  house.  They  then  threw  her  over  the 
fence,  and  scalped  her ;  but  as  she  evinced  symptoms  of 
life,  Schoolcraft  observed  “  that  is  not  enough”  when  im¬ 
mediately  one  of  the  savages  thrust  a  knife  into  her  side, 
and  they  left  her.  Fortunately  the  point  of  the  knife 
came  in  contact  with  a  rib  and  did  not  injure  her  much. 

Old  Mrs.  West  and  her  two  daughters,  who  were  alone 
when  the  old  gentleman  was  taken,  became  uneasy  that  he 
did  not  return ;  and  fearing  that  he  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  savages  (as  they  could  not  otherwise  account  for 
his  absence)  they  left  the  house  and  went  to  Alexander 
West's,  who  was  then  on  a  hunting  expedition  with  his 
brother  Edmund.  They  told  of  the  absence  of  old  Mr. 
West  and  [281]  their  fears  for  his  fate;  and  as  there  was 
no  man  here,  they  went  over  to  Jesse  Hughes’ wrho  was 
himself  uneasy  that  his  daughter  did  not  come  home. 
Upon  hearing  that  West  too  was  missing,  he  did  not 
doubt  but  that  both  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Indians; 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


379 


and  knowing  of  the  absence  from  home  of  Edmund  West, 
Jun.  he  deemed  it  advisable  to  apprize  his  wife  of  danger, 
and  remove  her  to  his  house.  For  this  purpose  and  ac¬ 
companied  by  Mrs.  West’s  two  daughters,  he  went  on. 
On  entering  the  door,  the  tale  of  destruction  which  had 
been  done  there  was  soon  told  in  part.  Mrs.  West  and  the 
lad  lay  weltering  in  their  blood,  but  not  yet  dead.  The 
sight  overpowered  the  girls,  and  Hughes  had  to  carry 
them  off. — Seeing  that  the  savages  had  but  just  left  them; 
and  aware  of  the  danger  which  would  attend  any  attempt 
to  move  out  and  give  the  alarm  that  night,  Hughes  guarded 
his  own  house  until  day,  when  he  spread  the  sorrowful  in¬ 
telligence,  and  a  company  were  collected  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  the  mischief  and  try  to  find  those  who  were 
known  to  be  missing. 

Young  West  was  found — standing  in  the  creek  about 
a  mile  from  where  he  had  been  tomahawked.  The  brains 
•were  oozing  from  his  head;  yet  he  survived  in  extreme 
suffering  for  three  days.  Old  Mr.  West  was  found  in  the 
field  where  he  had  been  tomahawked.  Mrs.  West  was  in 
the  house ;  she  had  probably  lived  but  a  few  minutes  after 
Hughes  and  her  sisters-in-law  had  left  there. — The  little 
girl  (Hacker’s  daughter)  was  in  bed  at  the  house  of  old 
Mr.  West.  She  related  the  history  of  the  transactions  at. 
Edmund  West’s,  Jun.  and  said  that  she  went  to  sleep  when 
thrown  over  the  fence  and  was  awaked  by  the  scalping. 
After  she  had  been  stabbed  at  the  suggestion  of  School¬ 
craft  and  left,  she  tried  to  re-cross  the  fence  to  the  house, 
but  as  she  was  climbing  up  she  again  went  to  sleep  and 
fell  back.  She  then  walked  into  the  woods,  sheltered  her¬ 
self  as  well  as  she  could  in  the  top  of  a  fallen  tree,  and  re¬ 
mained  there  until  the  cocks  crew  in  the  morning. 

Remembering  that  there  was  no  person  left  alive  at 
the  house  of  her  sister,  awhile  before  day  she  proceeded 
to  old  Mr.  West’s.  She  found  no  person  at  home,  the  fire 
nearly  out,  but  the  hearth  warm  and  she  laid  down  on  it. 
The  heat  produced  a  sickly  feeling,  which  caused  her  to 
get  up  and  go  to  the  bed,  in  which  she  was  found. — She 
recovered,  grew  up,  was  married,  gave  birth  to  ten  chil¬ 
dren,  and  died,  as  was  believed,  of  an  affection  of  the 


380 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


head,  occasioned  by  the  wound  she  received  that  night. 
Hughes’  daughter  was  ransomed  by  her  father  the  next 
year,  and  is  yet  living  in  sight  of  the  theatre  of  those  sav¬ 
age  enormities. 

In  March  1789,  two  Indians  came  to  the  house  of  Mr. 
Glass  in  the  upper  end  of  Ohio  (now  Brooke)  county.  They 
were  discovered  by  a  negro  woman,  who  immediately  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  here  are  Indians.”  Mrs.  Glass  rose  up  from 
her  spinning  wheel,  ran  to  the  door,  and  was  met  by  an 
Indian  with  his  gun  presented.  She  laid  hold  on  the  muz¬ 
zle  and  turning  it  aside,  begged  that  he  would  not  kill, 
[282]  but  take  her  prisoner.  He  walked  into  the  house 
and  when  joined  by  another  Indian  with  the  negro  woman 
and  her  boy,  about  four  years  old,  they  opened  a  chest, 
took  out  a  small  box  and  some  articles  of  clothing,  and 
without  doing  farther  mischief,  departed  with  the  prison¬ 
ers, — Mrs.  Glass  and  her  child,  two  years  of  age,  the  negro 
woman  and  boy  and  her  infant  child.  They  had  pro¬ 
ceeded  but  a  short  distance  when  a  consultation  was  held, 
and  Mrs.  Glass  supposing  from  their  gestures  and  frequent 
pointing  towards  the  children  they  were  the  subject  of  de¬ 
liberation,  held  forth  her  little  boy  to  one  of  the  savages 
and  begged  that  he  might  be  spared — adding,  u  he  will 
make  a  fine  little  Indian  after  awhile.”  He  signed  to  her 
to  go  on.  The  other  savage  then  struck  the  negro  boy 
with  the  pipe  end  of  his  tomahawk,  and  with  the  edge 
gave  him  a  blow  across  the  back  of  the  neck,  and  scalped 
and  left  him. 

In  the  evening  they  came  to  the  Ohio  river  just  above 
Wellsburg,  and  descended  it  in  a  canoe  about  five  miles, 
to  the  mouth  of  Rush  run.  They  drew  the  canoe  some 
distance  up  the  run  and  proceeding  between  one  and  two 
miles  farther  encamped  for  the  night. — Hext  morning  they 
resumed  their  march  and  about  two  o’clock  halted  on  In¬ 
dian  Short  creek,  twenty  miles  farther. 

When  the  savages  came  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Glass  he 
was  at  work  in  a  field  some  few  hundred  yards  off,  and 
was  ignorant  that  any  thing  extraordinary  had  occurred 
there,  until  in  the  afternoon. — Searching  in  vain  for  his 
wife,  he  became  satisfied  that  she  had  been  taken  by  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


381 


Indians;  and  proceeding  to  Well’s  fort  prevailed  on  ten 
men  to  accompany  him  in  quest  of  them.  Early  next 
morning  they  discovered  the  place  where  the  Indians  em¬ 
barked  in  the  canoe;  and  as  Mr.  Glass  readily  distin¬ 
guished  the  impression  made  by  Mrs.  Glass’  shoe  on  the 
sand,  they  crossed  the  river  with  great  expectation  of  being 
able  to  overtake  them.  They  then  went  down  the  river 
to  the  mouth  of  Rush  run,  where  the  canoe  was  found 
and  identified  by  some  of  Mr.  Glass’  papers,  purposely 
left  there  by  Mrs.  Glass.  From  this  place  the  trail  of  the 
Indians  and  their  prisoners  was  plainly  visible,  and  pur¬ 
suing  it,  the  party  arrived  in  view  of  the  smoke  from 
their  fire  on  Short  creek,  about  an  hour  after  the  Indians 
had  halted.  Crossing  slyly  forward,  when  rather  more 
than  one  hundred  yards  off*  they  beheld  the  two  savages 
attentively  inspecting  a  red  jacket  which  one  of  them 
held,  and  Mrs.  Glass  and  her  little  hoy  and  the  negro 
woman  and  her  child  a  few  paces  from  them. — Suddenly 
the  Indians  let  fall  the  jacket,  and  looked  towards  the 
men.  Supposing  they  were  discovered,  they  discharged 
their  guns  and  rushed  towards  the  fire.  One  of  the  Indi¬ 
ans  fell  and  dropped  his  gun,  but  recovering,  ran  about 
one  hundred  yards  when  a  shot  aimed  at  him  by  Major 
McGuire  brought  him  to  his  hands  and  knees. — Mrs.  Glass 
informing  them  that  there  was  another  encampment  of 
Indians  close  by,  instead  of  following  the  wounded  savage,, 
they  returned  home  with  all  speed. 

[283]  In  August  five  Indians  on  their  way  to  the  set¬ 
tlements  on  the  waters  of  the  Monongahela,  met  with  two 
men  on  Middle  Island  creek,  and  killed  them.  Taking 
their  horses  they  continued  on  their  route  until  they  came 
to  the  house  of  William  Johnson  on  Ten  Mile,  and  made 
prisoner  of  Mrs.  Johnson  and  some  children ;  plundered 
the  house,  killed  part  of  the  stock,  and  taking  with  them 
one  of  Johnson’s  horses,  returned  towards  the  Ohio. 
When  the  Indians  came  to  the  house,  Johnson  had  gone 
to  a  lick  not  far  off,  and  on  his  return  in  the  morning,  see- 
what  had  been  done,  and  searching  until  he  found  the  trail 
of  the  savages  and  their  prisoners,  ran  to  Clarksburg  for 
assistance.  A  company  of  men  repaired  with  him  imme- 


382 


Withers's  Chronicles 


diately  to  where  he  had  discovered  the  trail,  and  keeping 
it  about  a  mile,  found  four  of  the  children  lying  dead  in 
the  woods.  The  savages  had  tomahawked  and  scalped 
them,  and  placing  their  heads  close  together,  turned  their 
bodies  and  feet  straight  out  so  as  to  represent  a  cross.  The 
dead  were  buried  and  farther  pursuit  given  over. 

Other  Indians,  about  the  same  time,  came  to  the  house 
of  John  Mack  on  a  branch  of  Hacker’s  creek.  He  being 
from  home,  they  killed  all  who  were  at  the  house.  Two 
of  the  children,  who  had  been  sent  into  the  woods  to  hunt 
the  cattle,  returning,  saw  a  little  sister  lying  in  the  yard 
scalped,  and  directly  fled,  and  gave  the  alarm.  In  the 
morning  some  men  assembled  and  went  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  the  mischief.  The  house  was  no  longer  to  be 
seen, — a  heap  of  ashes  was  all  that  remained  of  it.  The 
little  girl  who  had  been  scalped  in  the  yard,  was  much 
burned,  and  those  who  had  been  murdered  in  the  house, 
were  consumed  with  it.  Mrs.  Mack  had  been  taken  some 
distance  from  the  house,  tomahawked,  scalped,  and  stripped 
naked.  She  was  yet  alive  ;  and  as  the  men  approached,  a 
sense  of  her  situation  induced  her  to  exert  her  feeble 
strength  in  drawing  leaves  around  her  so  as  to  conceal 
her  nakedness.  The  men  wrapped  their  hunting  shirts 
about  her,  and  carried  her  to  a  neighboring  house.  She 
lived  a  few  days,  gave  birth  to  a  child  and  died. 

Some  time  after  the  murder  of  Mack’s  family,  John 
Sims,  living  on  a  branch  of  Gnatty  creek,  seeing  his  horses 
come  running  up  much  affrighted,  was  led  to  believe  that 
the  Indians  had  been  trying  to  catch  them.  In  a  few  min¬ 
utes,  the  dogs  began  to  bark  furiously  in  the  corn  field  ad¬ 
joining,  and  he  became  satisfied  the  savages  were  approach¬ 
ing.  Knowing  [284]  that  he  could  offer  no  effectual  resist¬ 
ance,  if  they  should  attack  his  house,  he  contrived  an  arti¬ 
fice  to  deter  them  from  approaching.  Taking  down  his 
gun,  he  walked  around  the  house  backward  and  forward, 
and  as  if  speaking  to  men  in  it,  called  out,  “Be  watchful. 
They  will  soon  be  here,  and  as  soon  as  you  see  them,  draw 
a  fine  bead;”  Mrs.  Sims  in  a  coarse  tone  of  voice  and  with 
feigned  resolution,  answering  as  she  had  been  advised, 
“Hever  fear!  let  them  once  shew  their  yellow  hides,  and 


383 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

we'll  pepper  them.”  lie  would  then  retire  into  the  house, 
change  his  garments,  the  better  to  support  the  deception, 
and  again  go  forth  to  watch  and  give  directions  to  those 
within.  He  pursued  this  plan  until  night,  when  he  with¬ 
drew  with  his  family  to  a  place  of  safety.  The  Indians  had 
actually  been  in  the  cornfield,  and  near  enough  to  have 
shot  Sims, — the  place  where  they  had  been  sitting  being 
plainly  discernible  next  morning.  Sims’  artifice  no  doubt 
drove  them  off,  and  as  they  were  retreating  they  fired 
the  house  of  Jethro  Thompson  on  Lost  creek. 

In  the  spring  of  1790,  the  neighborhood  of  Clarks¬ 
burg  was  again  visited  by  Indians  in  quest  of  plunder,  and 
who  stole  and  carried  off  several  horses.  They  were  dis¬ 
covered  and  pursued  to  the  Ohio  river,  when  the  pursuers, 
being  reinforced,  determined  to  follow  on  over  into  the  In¬ 
dian  country.  Crossing  the  river  and  ascending  the  Hock- 
hocking,  near  to  the  falls,  they  came  upon  the  camp  of  the 
savages.  The  whites  opened  an  unexpected  fire,  which 
killing  one  and  wounding  another  of  the  Indians,  caused 
the  remainder  to  fly,  leaving  their  horses  about  their 
camp. — These  were  caught,  brought  back  and  restored  to 
their  owners. 

In  April  as  Samuel  Hull  was  engaged  in  ploughing  a 
field  for  Major  Benjamin  Robinson,  he  was  discovered  by 
some  Indians,  shot,  tomahawked,  and  scalped.  The  mur¬ 
der  was  first  ascertained  by  Mrs.  Robinson.  Surprised 
that  Hull  did  not  come  to  the  house  as  usual,  to  feed  the 
horses  and  get  his  own  dinner,  she  went  to  the  field  to  see 
what  detained  him  She  found  the  horses  some  distance 
from  where  they  had  been  recently  at  work ;  and  going  on, 
presently  saw  Hull  lying  where  he  had  been  shot. 


384 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


[285]  CHAPTER  XVII. 

Upon  close  of  the  war  of  the  revolution,  many 
circumstances  conspired  to  add  considerably  to  the  popu¬ 
lation  of  Kentucky;  and  her  strength  and  ability  to  cope 
with  the  savages  and  repel  invasion,  were  consequently 
much  increased.  Conscious  of  this,  and  sensible  of  their 
own  condition,  weakened  by  the  withdrawal  of  their  al¬ 
lies,  the  Indians  did  not  venture  upon  expeditions  against 
its  inhabitants,  requiring  to  be  conducted  by  the  co-opera¬ 
tion  of  many  warriors.  They  preferred  to  wage  war  in 
small  parties,  against  detached  settlements  and  unprotected 
families;  and  guarding  the  Ohio  river  and  the  “  wilderness 
trace, m  to  cut  off  parties  of  emigrants  removing  to  that 
country.  In  all  of  those  they  were  eminently  successful. 
In  the  interval  of  time,  between  the  peace  of  1783  and  the 
defeat  of  General  Harmar,  in  1790,  it  is  inferred  from  evi¬ 
dence  laid  before  Congress,  that  in  Kentuck}^  not  less  than 
one  thousand  human  beings  were  killed  and  taken  prison¬ 
ers.  And  although  the  whites  were  enabled  to  carry  the 
war  into  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  and  frequently 
with  success,  yet  did  not  this  put  a  stop  to  their  enormities. 
When  pressed  by  the  presence  of  a  conquering  army,  they 
would  sue  for  peace,  and  enter  into  treaties,  which  they 
scarcely  observed  inviolate  ’till  those  armies  were  with¬ 
drawn  from  among  them. 

In  April  1785,  some  Indians  hovering  about  Bear 

xThe  “  Wilderness  Road”  (or  “trace”)  was  the  overland  highway- 
through  Cumberland  Gap.  It  was  sometimes  called  “  Boone’s  trace.” 
From  North  Carolina  and  Southern  Virginia,  it  was  the  nearest  road  to 
Kentucky;  to  those  living  farther  north,  the  Ohio  was  the  favorite 
highway.  While  the  river  was  an  easier  path,  it  was  more  dangerous 
on  account  of  Indians:  but  travelers  of  the  early  period  who  had  come 
down  the  Ohio,  preferred  returning  east  by  the  Wilderness  Road  to 
poling  up  stream.  See  Thomas  Speed’s  Wilderness  Road,  in  the  Filson 
Club  publications  (Louisville,  1886.) — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


385 


Grass,  met  with  Colonel  Christian  and  killed  him.  His 
loss  was  severely  felt  thougkout  the  whole  country.1 

In  October  of  the  same  year,  several  families  moving 
to  the  [286]  country  were  attacked  and  defeated  on  Skegg’s 
creek.  Six  of  the  whites  were  killed,  and  a  number  of  the 
others  made  prisoners,  among  whom  were  Mrs.  McClure 
and  her  infant.  When  the  attack  was  begun,  she  secreted 
herself  with  four  children  in  some  bushes,  which  together 
with  the  darkness  of  the  night,  protected  her  from  ob¬ 
servation  ;  and  could  she  have  overcome  the  feelings  of  a 
mother  for  her  child,  she  might  have  ensured  her  own 
safety  and  that  of  her  three  other  children  by  leaving  her 
infant  at  some  distance  from  them.  She  was  aware  of 
the  danger  to  which  its  cries  would  expose  her,  and  sought 
to  prevent  them  by  giving  it  the  breast.  For  awhile  it 
had  that  effect,  but  its  shrieks  at  length  arose  and  drew 
the  savages  to  the  spot.  Three  of  her  children  were  slain 
by  her  side. 

On  hearing  of  this  disastrous  event,  Capt.  Whitley 
collected  twenty-one  men  from  the  nearer  stations,  and 
went  in  pursuit  of  the  aggressors.  He  presently  overtook 
them,  killed  two  of  their  party,  and  retook  the  prisoners 
and  the  scalps  of  those  whom  they  had  slain. — So  signal 
was  his  success  over  them. 

In  ten  days  afterwards,  another  company  of  movers ,  led 
on  by  Mr.  Moore,  was  attacked,  and  in  the  skirmish  which 
ensued,  nine  of  their  party  were  killed.  Again  Capt. 
Whitley  went  in  pursuit  of  the  savage  perpetrators  of  this 
outrage,  having  thirty  men  to  accompany  him.  On  the 
sixth  day  of  the  pursuit,  they  overtook  twenty  mounted 

:Col.  William  Christian,  who  served  in  Lord  Dunmore’s  War.  He 
was  killed  in  April,  1786.  John  May,  writing  to  Governor  Henry  from 
Crab  Orchard,  Ky.,  April  19,  says:  [“The  Indians  about  the  Wabash] 
had  frequently  been  on  Bear  Grass,  and  Col.  Christian,  in  order  to  in¬ 
duce  others  to  go  in  pursuit  of  them,  has  upon  every  occasion  gone  him¬ 
self.  And  last  week  he  with  about  twenty  men  crossed  the  Ohio,  and 
overtook  three  Indians,  whom  they  killed  ;  but  his  men  not  obeying  his 
orders,  which  were  to  rush  altogether  on  them,  he  with  three  others 
only  overtook  the  Indians,  and  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  receive  a  mor< 
tal  wound  himself  and  Capt.  Isaac  Kellar  received  another.” — R.  G.  T, 

25 


386 


Withers's  Chronicles 


Indians,  some  of  whom  were  clad  in  the  clothes  of  those 
they  had  slain  ;  and  who  dismounted  and  fled  upon  the  first 
tire.  Three  of  them  however  were  killed,  and  eight  scalps 
and  all  the  plunder  were  recovered. 

In  consequence  of  the  many  repeated  aggressions  of 
the  savages,  an  expedition  was  this  fall  concerted  against 
their  towns  on  the  Wabash,  to  be  carried  into  immediate 
execution.  Through  the  exertions  of  the  county  lieuten¬ 
ants  an  army  of  one  thousand  men,  was  soon  assembled 
at  Louisville1  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
Clarke,  who  marched  directly  for  the  theatre  of  contem¬ 
plated  operations — leaving  the  provisions  and  much  of 
their  munitions  to  be  transported  in  boats.  The  army 
arrived  near  the  towns,  before  the  boats; — the  men  became 
dissatisfied  and  mutinous,  and  Gen.  Clarke  was  in  conse¬ 
quence,  reluctantly  forced  to  return  without  striking  a 
blow.2 

[287]  When  the  army  under  Gen.  Clarke  marched  from 
Louisville,  Col.  Logan  knowing  that  the  attention  of  the 
Indians  would  be  drawn  almost  exclusively  towards  it,  & 
other  towns  be  left  exposed  and  defenceless,  raised  a  body 
of  troops  and  proceeded  against  the  villages  on  the  Great 
Miami,  and  on  the  head  waters  of  Mad  river.  In  this 
campaign  he  burned  eight  large  towns,  killed  twenty  war¬ 
riors  and  took  between  seventy  and  eighty  prisoners.3 

1  The  time  for  rendezvous  was  September  10, 1786  (letter  of  Col.  Levi 
Todd  to  Governor  Henry,  August  29). — R.  G.  T. 

2  Clark  was  roundly  scored  in  contemporary  accounts,  for  being  much 
of  the  time  under  the  influence  of  liquor.  His  futile  expedition  was 
against  the  Indians  around  Vincennes,  while  Logan’s  party,  which  ap¬ 
pears  practically  to  have  revolted  from  Clark,  had  a  successful  cam¬ 
paign  against  the  towns  on  Mad  River.  See  Green’s  Spanish  Conspiracy, 
ch.  v.,  and  Roosevelt’s  Winning  of  the  West,  iii.,  passim. — R.  G.  T. 

3  Col.  Benjamin  Logan  to  Governor  Randolph,  Dec.  17, 1786:  “  Sept. 
14,  1786,  I  received  orders  [from  Clark]  to  collect  a  sufficient  number  of 
men  in  the  District  of  Kentucky  to  march  against  the  Shawnee’s  Towns. 
Agreeable  to  said  orders  I  collected  790  men,  and  on  the  6th  of  Octo¬ 
ber  I  attacked  the  above  mentioned  Towns,  killed  ten  of  the  chiefs  of 
that  nation,  captured  thirty-two  prisoners,  burnt  upwards  of  two  hun¬ 
dred  dwelling  houses  and  supposed  to  have  burnt  fifteen  thousand 
bushels  of  corn,  took  some  horses  and  cattle,  killed  a  number  of  hogs, 
and  took  near  one  thousand  pounds  value  of  Indian  furniture,  and  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


387 


Among  the  troops  led  on  by  Col.  Logan,  was  the 
late  Gen.  Lyttle  (since  of  Cincinnati)  then  a  youth  of  six¬ 
teen.* 1  At  the  head  of  a  party  of  volunteers,  when  the  first 
towns  on  the  Mad  river  were  reduced,  he  charged  on  some 
of  the  savages  whom  he  saw  endeavoring  to  reach  a  close 
thicket  of  hazel  and  plum  bushes.  Being  some  distance 
in  front  of  his  companions,  when  within  fifty  yards  of  the 
retreating  enemy,  he  dismounted,  and  raising  his  gun  to 
fire,  saw  the  warrior  at  whom  he  was  aiming,  hold  out  his 
hand  in  token  of  surrendering.  In  this  time  the  other 
men  had  come  up  and  were  making  ready  to  fire,  when 
young  Lyttle  called  to  them,  “  they  have  surrendered  ; 
and  remember  the  Colonel’s  orders  to  kill  none  who  ask 
for  quarters.”  The  warrior  advanced  towards  him  with 
his  hand  extended,  and  ordering  the  others  to  follow  him. 
As  he  approached,  Lyttle  gave  him  his  hand,  but  with 
difficulty  restrained  the  men  from  tomahawking  him.  It 
was  the  head  chief  with  this  three  wives  and  children, 
two  or  three  of  whom  were  fine  looking  lads,  and  one  of 
them  a  youth  of  Lyttle’s  age.  Observing  the  conduct  of 
Lyttle  in  preventing  the  murder  of  the  chief,  this  youth 
drew  close  to  him.  When  they  returned  to  the  town,  a 
crowd  of  men  rushed  around  to  see  the  chief,  and  Lyttle 
stepped  out  of  the  crowd  to  fasten  his  horse.  The  lad 
accompanied  him.  A  young  man  who  had  been  to  the 
spring  to  drink,  seeing  Lyttle  with  the  Indian  lad,  came 
running  towards  him.  The  youth  supposed  that  he  was 
advancing  to  kill  him,  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  let 
fly  an  arrow.  It  passed  through  Curner’s  dress,  and 
grazed  his  side  ;  and  but  for  the  timely  twitch  which  Lyttle 
gave  the  lad’s  arm,  would  have  killed  him.  His  other  ar¬ 
rows  were  then  taken  away,  and  he  sternly  reprimanded. 

Upon  the  return  of  Lyttle  to  where  the  chief  stood, 

quantity  ot  furniture  we  burnt  I  can  not  account  for.”  The  force  was 
on  duty  “  not  above  twenty-seven  days  .  .  .  and  I  would  venture 

to  say  the  expenses  will  be  found  to  be  very  moderate.” — R.  G.  T. 

1  William  Lytle,  born  in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  September  1,  1770.  He  came 
to  Ohio  with  his  father,  at  the  age  of  ten,  and  subsequently  became 
surveyor-general  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  His  father  served  as  a 
captain  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  as  a  colonel  in  the  Revolu¬ 
tion  and  headed  a  large  colony  to  Ohio  in  1780. — R.  G.  T. 


388 


Withers's  Chronicles 


lie  heard  Col.  Logan  give  orders  that  the  prisoners  must 
not  be  molested,  but  taken  to  a  house  and  placed  under 
guard  for  their  [288]  security;  and  seeing  Major  McGary1 
riding  up  and  knowing  his  disposition,  he  called  to  him 
saying,  “  Major  McGary,  you  must  not  molest  those  pris¬ 
oners  ”  and  rode  off.  McGary  mutteringly  replied,  “  I’ll 
see  to  that;”  and  dismounting,  entered  the  circle  around 
the  prisoners.  He  demanded  of  the  chief,  if  he  were  at 
the  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks.  The  chief  probably  not  un¬ 
derstanding  the  purport  of  the  question,  replied  affirma¬ 
tively.  McGary  instantly  seized  an  axe  from  the  Grena¬ 
dier  Squaw,  standing  by  and  sunk  it  into  his  head.  Lyttle 
saw  the  descending  stroke  and  interposed  his  arm  to  prevent 
it  or  break  its  force.  The  handle  came  in  contact  with  his 
wrist  and  had  well  nigh  broke  it.  Indignant  at  the  bar¬ 
barous  deed,  with  the  impetuosity  of  youth  he  drew  his 
knife  to  avenge  it.  His  arm  was  arrested,  or  the  steel 
wrould  have  been  plunged  into  the  heart  of  McGary.  The 
bloody  act  of  this  man  caused  deep  regret,  humiliation  and 
shame  to  pervade  the  greater  part  of  the  army,  and  none 
were  more  affected  by  it,  than  the  brave  and  generous 
Logan. — When  the  prisoners  were  conducted  to  the  house, 
it  was  with  much  difficulty  the  Indian  lad  could  be  pre¬ 
vailed  upon  to  quit  the  side  of  Lyttle. 

The  commencement  of  the  year  1786  witnessed  treaties 
of  peace  with  all  the  neighboring  tribes;2  but  its  progress 
was  marked  by  acts  of  general  hostility.  Many  individual 
massacres  were  committed  and  in  the  fall,  a  company  of 
movers  were  attacked,  and  twenty-one  of  them  killed. 
This  state  of  things  continuing,  in  1787  the  secretary  of 
war  ordered  detachments  of  troops  to  be  stationed  at  dif- 

[288]  1  This  name  is  sometimes  written  Magery.  It  is  the  same  in¬ 
dividual  who  caused  the  disaster  at  the  Blue  Licks  in  August  1782. 

2  The  treaty  with  the  Shawnees  was  negotiated  January  30,  1786,  at 
Fort  Finney,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  by  George  Rogers 
Clark,  Richard  Butler,  and  Samuel  H.  Parsons,  commissioners.  The 
treaty  wTith  the  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Chippewas,  and  Ottawas  was  ne¬ 
gotiated  at  Fort  McIntosh,  January  21,  1785,  by  Clark,  Butler,  and 
Arthur  Lee.  These  treaties  were  of  little  avail,  so  long  as  British  agents 
like  McKee,  Elliott,  and  Simon  Girty  lived  among  the  Indians  and  kept 
them  in  a  constant  ferment  against  the  Americans. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


389 


ferent  points  for  the  protection  of  the  frontier.  Still  the 
Indians  kept  np  such  an  incessant  war  against  it,  as  after 
the  adoption  of  the  federal  constitution,  led  the  general 
government  to  interpose  more  effectually  for  the  security 
of  its  inhabitants,  by  sending  a  body  of  troops  to  operate 
against  them  in  their  own  country. 

While  these  things  were  doing,  a  portion  of  the  coun¬ 
try  north  west  of  the  river  Ohio,  began  to  be  occupied  by 
the  'whites.  One  million  and  a  half  acres  of  land  in  that 
•country,  having  been  appropriated  as  military  land,  a  com¬ 
pany,  composed  of  officers  and  soldiers  in  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  was  formed  in  Boston  in  March  1786  under  the 
title  of  the  [289]  “  Ohio  Company,”  and  Gen.  Rufus  Put¬ 
nam  was  appointed  its  agent.  In  the  spring  of  1788,  he 
with  forty-seven  other  persons,  from  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut,  repaired  to  Marietta,  erected  a 
stockade  fort  for  security  against  the  attacks  of  Indians, 
and  effected  a  permanent  settlement  there.1  In  the  au- 

lrThe  several  states  which,  under  their  colonial  charters  had  claims 
to  territory  beyond  the  Ohio  River, — Virginia,  New  York,  Connecticut, 
nnd  Massachusetts, — had  (1781-84)  relinquished  their  several  claims  to 
the  newly-formed  United  States,  and  the  Ordinance  of  1787  had  provided 
for  this  Northwest  Territory  an  enlightened  form  of  government  which 
was  to  be  the  model  of  the  constitutions  of  the  five  states  into  which  it 
was  ultimately  to  be  divided.  There  was  formed  in  Boston,  in  March, 
1786,  the  Ohio  Company  of  Associates,  and  October  17, 1787,  it  purchased 
from  Congress  a  million  and  a  half  acres  in  the  new  territory,  about  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  Many  of  the  shareholders  "were  Revolu¬ 
tionary  soldiers,  and  great  care  was  taken  to  select  only  good  men  as  col¬ 
onists — oftentimes  these  were  the  best  and  most  prosperous  men  of  their 
several  localities.  Gen.  Rufus  Putnam,  a  cousin  of  Israel,  and  a  near 
friend  of  Washington,  was  chosen  as  superintendent  of  the  pioneers. 
Two  parties — one  rendezvousing  at  Danvers,  Mass.,  and  the  other  at 
Hartford,  Conn. — arrived  after  a  difficult  passage  through  the  moun¬ 
tains  at  Simrall’s  Ferry  (now  West  Newton),  on  the  Youghiogheny,  the 
middle  of  February,  1788.  A  company  of  boat-builders  and  other  me¬ 
chanics  had  preceded  them  a  month,  yet  it  was  still  six  weeks  more  be¬ 
fore  the  little  flotilla  could  leave:  “The  Union  Gaily  of  45  tons  bur¬ 
den;  the  Adelphia  ferry  boat,  3  tons;  &  three  log  canoes  of  different 
sizes.  No.  oi  pioneers,  48.”  The  winter  had  been  one  of  the  severest 
known  on  the  Upper  Ohio,  and  the  spring  was  cold,  wet,  and  backward; 
so  that  amid  many  hardships  it  was  the  seventh  of  April  before  they  ar¬ 
rived  at  the  Muskingum  and  founded  Marietta,  named  for  the  unfortu¬ 
nate  Marie  Antoinette,  for  the  love  of  France  was  still  strong  in  the 
breasts  of  Revolutionary  veterans. — R.  G.  T. 


390 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


tumn  of  the  same  year,  twenty  families,  chiefly  from  Essex 
and  Middlesex  counties  in  Massachusetts,  likewise  moved 
there,  and  the  forests  of  lofty  timber  fell  before  their  un¬ 
tiring  and  laborious  exertions.  Many  of  those  who  thus 
took  up  their  abodes  in  that,  then  distant  country  had  been 
actively  engaged  in  the  late  war,  and  were  used,  not  only 
to  face  danger  with  firmness  when  it  came  upon  them ;; 
but  also  to  devise  and  practice,  means  to  avert  it.  Know¬ 
ing  the  implacable  resentment  of  the  savages  to  the  whiter 
generally,  they  were  at  once  careful  not  to  provoke  it  into 
action,  and  to  prepare  to  ward  off  its  effects.  In  conse¬ 
quence  of  this  course  of  conduct,  and  their  assiduity  and 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  their  lands,  but  few  mas¬ 
sacres  were  committed  in  their  neighborhoods,  although 
the  savages  were  waging  a  general  war  against  the  fron¬ 
tier,  and  carrying  destruction  into  settlements,  compara¬ 
tively  in  the  interior. 

In  the  winter  of  1786,  Mr.  Stites  of  Redstone  visited 
New  York  with  the  view  of  purchasing  (congress  being 
then  in  session  there)  for  settlement,  a  tract  of  country 
between  the  two  Miamies.  The  better  to  insure  success 
to  his  project,  he  cultivated  the  acquaintance  of  many 
members  of  congress  and  endeavored  to  impress  upon 
their  minds  its  propriety  and  utility.  John  Cleves 
Symmes,  then  a  representative  from  New  Jersey,  and 
whose  aid  Stites  solicited  to  enable  him  to  effect  the  pur¬ 
chase,  becoming  impressed  with  the  great  pecuniary  ad¬ 
vantage  which  must  result  from  the  speculation,  if  the 
country  were  such  as  it  was  represented  to  be,  determined 
to  ascertain  this  fact  by  personal  inspection.  He  did  so ; 
and  on  his  return  a  purchase  of  one  million  of  acres,  lying 
on  the  Ohio  and  between  the  Great  and  Little  Miami,  was 
made  in  his  name.  Soon  after,  he  sold  to  Matthias  Den¬ 
man  and  others,  that  part  of  his  purchase  which  forms  the 
present  site  of  the  city  of  Cincinnati;  and  in  the  fall  of 
1789,  some  families  from  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Red¬ 
stone,  descended  the  Ohio  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Little 
Miami.  As  the  Indians  were  now  more  than  ordinarily 
troublesome,  forty  soldiers  under  Lieut.  Kersey,  were  or¬ 
dered  to  join  them  for  the  [290]  defence  of  the  settlement. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


391 


They  erected  at  first  a  single  blockhouse,  and  soon  after 
adding  to  it  three  others,  a  stockade  fort  was  formed  on  a 
position  now  included  within  the  town  of  Columbia. 

In  June  1789,  Major  Doughty  with  one  hundred  and 
forty  regulars,  arrived  opposite  the  mouth  of  Licking,  and 
put  up  four  block  houses  on  the  purchase  made  by  Den¬ 
man  of  Symmes,  and  directly  after,  erected  Fort  Washing¬ 
ton.  Towards  the  close  of  the  year,  Gen.  Harmar  arrived 
with  three  hundred  other  regulars,  and  occupied  the  fort. 
Thus  assured  of  safety,  Israel  Ludlow,  (jointly  interested 
with  Denman  and  Patterson)  with  twenty  other  persons, 
moved  and  commenced  building  some  cabins  along  the 
river  and  near  to  the  fort. — During  the  winter  Mr.  Ludlow 
surveyed  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Losantiville,1  but  when 
Gen.  St.  Clair  came  there  as  governor  of  the  North  West¬ 
ern  Territory,  he  changed  its  name  to  Cincinnati.2 

[290]  1  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  more  strange  compound  deriva¬ 
tive  term  than  this.  Being  situated  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  Licking, 
the  name  was  made  expressive  of  its  locality,  by  uniting  the  Latin  word 
os,  (the  mouth)  with  the  Greek,  anti  (opposite)  and  the  French,  ville,  (a 
town,)  and  prefixing  to  this  union  from  such  different  sources,  the  in¬ 
itial  ( L )  of  the  river.  The  author  of  this  word,  must  have  been  good  at 
invention,  and  in  these  days  of  town  making  could  find  ample  employ¬ 
ment  for  his  talent. 

3  In  1788,  John  Cleves  Symmes — uncle  of  he  of  “  Symmes’s  Hole  ” — 
the  first  United  States  judge  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  purchased  from 
congress  a  million  acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio,  lying  between  the  two 
Miami  Rivers.  Matthias  Denman  bought  from  him  a  square  mile  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  grant,  “  on  a  most  delightful  high  bank  ”  opposite 
the  Licking,  and — on  a  cash  valuation  for  the  land  of  two  hundred  dol¬ 
lars — took  in  with  him  as  partners  Robert  Patterson  and  John  Filson. 
Filson  was  a  schoolmaster,  had  written  the  first  history  of  Kentucky, 
and  seems  to  have  enjoyed  much  local  distinction.  To  him  was  en¬ 
trusted  the  task  of  inventing  a  name  for  the  settlement  which  the  part¬ 
ners  proposed  to  plant  here.  The  outcome  was  “  Losantiville,”  a  peda¬ 
gogical  hash  of  Greek,  Latin,  and  French:  L,  for  Licking;  os,  Greek  for 
mouth ;  anti ,  Latin  for  opposite  ;  ville,  French  for  city — Licking-opposite- 
City,  or  City-opposite-Licking,  whichever  is  preferred.  This  was  in 
August;  the  Fates  work  quickly,  for  in  October  poor  Filson  was  scalped 
by  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Big  Miami,  before  a  settler 
had  yet  been  enticed  to  Losantiville.  But  the  survivors  knew  how  to 
“boom”  a  town;  lots  were  given  away  by  lottery  to  intending  actual 
settlers,  who  moved  thither  late  in  December  or  early  in  January,  and 


392 


Withers's  Chronicles 


In  1790,  a  settlement  was  made  at  tlie  forks  of  Duck 
creek,  twenty  miles  up  the  Muskingum  at  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Waterford;  another  fifteen  miles  farther 
up  the  river  at  Big  Bottom,  and  a  third  at  Wolf  creek  near 
the  falls.  These  settlements  were  made  on  a  tract  of  one 
hundred  thousand  acres,  laid  off  into  “  donation  ”  lots  of 
one  hundred  acres,  and  gratuitously  assigned  to  actual 
settlers;  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  they  contained  nearly 
five  hundred  men,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  seven  had 
families. 

Thus  wTas  the  present  flourishing  State  of  Ohio  begun 
to  he  occupied  by  the  whites;  and  the  mind  cannot  hut  he 
struck  with  astonishment  in  contemplating  the  wonderful 
changes  which  have  been  wrought  there ,  in  such  brief  space 
of  time,  by  industry  and  enterprise.  Where  then  stood 
mighty  and  unbroken  forests,  through  which  the  savage 
passed  on  his  mission  of  blood ;  or  stalked  the  majestic 
bufialoe,  gamboled  the  sportive  deer,  or  trotted  the  shaggy 
bear,  are  now  to  [291]  be  seen  productive  farms,  covered 
with  lowing  herds  and  bleating  flocks,  and  teeming  with 

in  a  few  months  Judge  Symmes  was  able  to  write  that  “  it  populates 
considerably.” 

A  few  weeks  previous  to  the  planting  of  Losantiville,  a  party  of 
men  from  Redstone  had  settled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami,  about 
•  ■where  the  suburb  of  California  now  is ;  and  a  few  weeks  later,  a  third 
colony  was  started  by  Symmes  himself  at  North  Bend,  near  the  Big 
Miami,  at  the  western  extremity  of  his  grant,  and  this  the  judge  wished 
to  make  the  capital  of  the  new  Northwest  Territory.  At  first  it  was  a 
race  between  these  three  colonies.  A  few  miles  below  North  Bend, 
Fort  Finney  had  been  built  in  1785-86,  hence  the  Bend  had  at  first  the 
start;  but  a  high  flood  dampened  its  prospects,  the  troops  were  with¬ 
drawn  from  this  neighborhood  to  Louisville,  and  in  the  winter  of  1789- 
90  Fort  Washington  was  built  at  Losantiville  by  General  Harrnar.  The 
neighborhood  of  the  new  fortress  became  in  the  ensuing  Indian  war 
the  center  of  the  district.  To  Losantiville,  with  its  fort,  came  Arthur 
St.  Clair,  the  new  governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory  (January,  1790), 
and  making  his  headquarters  here,  laid  violent  hands  on  Filson’s  inven¬ 
tion,  at  once  changing  the  name  to  Cincinnati,  in  honor  of  the  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati,  of  which  the  new  official  was  a  prominent  member — 
“so  that,”  Judge  Symmes  sorrowfully  writes,  “Losantiville  will  become 
extinct.”  It  was  a  winter  of  suffering  for  the  Western  Cincinnati.  The 
troops  were  in  danger  of  starvation,  and  three  professional  hunters  were 
contracted  with  to  supply  them  with  game,  till  corn  could  come  iu  from. 
Columbia  and  other  older  settlements  on  the  river. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


393 


all  the  comforts  of  life. — And  where  then  stood  the  town 
of  Losantiville  with  its  three  or  four  little  cabins  and  their 
twenty  inmates,  is  now  to  he  seen  a  flourishing  city  with 
its  splendid  edifices,  and  a  population  of  26,513  souls. 
Continuing  thus  progressively  to  improve,  the  mind  of 
man,  “pervading  and  far  darting”  as  it  is,  can  scarcely 
picture  the  state  which  may  be  there  exhibited  in  the  lapse 
of  a  few  centuries. 

The  formations  of  those  establishments  north  west  of 
the  Ohio  river,  incited  the  savages  to  the  commission  of 
such  and  so  frequent  enormities  that  measures  were 
taken  by  the  general  government  to  reduce  them  to 
quiet  and  render  peace  truly  desirable  to  them.  While 
preparations  were  making  to  carry  those  measures  into 
operation,  detachments  from  the  regular  troops  at  Fort 
Washington  wrere  stationed  at  Duck  creek,  the  Big  Bot¬ 
tom  and  Wolf  creek,  for  the  security  of  the  settlers  at 
those  places ;  and  when  every  thing  was  prepared,  Gen. 
Harmar,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  regulars, 
moved  from  his  head  quarters  at  Fort  Washington,  to  the 
Little  Miami,  where  the  militia  detailed  for  the  expedition, 
wTere  then  assembled.  The  object  was  to  bring  the  In¬ 
dians,  if  posssible,  to  a  general  engagement;  and  if  this 
could  not  be  effected,  to  destroy  their  towns  and  crops  on 
the  Scioto  and  Miami. 

On  the  last  day  of  September  1790,  the  army  then  con¬ 
sisting  of  fourteen  hundred  and  forty-three  men,  (of  whom 
only  three  hundred  and  twenty  were  regulars)  marched 
forward,  and  on  the  17th  of  October  reached  the  Great 
Miami  village.1  It  was  found  to  be  entirely  deserted  and 
all  the  valuable  buildings  in  flames — having  been  fired  by 

1  Col.  Josiah  Harmar’s  militia  were  from  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and 
Pennsylvania.  He  left  Fort  Washington' (Cincinnati),  October  3.  At 
this  time  the  Miami  Indians  had  seven  villages  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  junction  of  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary’s,  which  streams  unite  to 
form  the  Maumee.  The  village  which  lay  in  the  forks  of  the  St.  Joseph 
and  the  Maumee,  was  the  principal ;  one  in  the  forks  of  the  St.  Mary’s 
and  the  Maumee,  which  was  called  Kekionga,  had  30  houses ;  at  Chil- 
licothe,  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Maumee,  were  58  houses,  and  oppo¬ 
site  these  18  houses.  The  Delawares  had  two  villages  on  the  St.  Mary’s, 
45  houses  in  all,  and  a  town  on  the  St.  Joseph  of  36  houses. — R.  G.  T. 


394 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


the  Indians.  As  it  was  apparent  that  the  savages  had  but 
recently  left  there,  Col.  Hardin  was  detached  with  two  hun¬ 
dred  and  ten  men,  sixty  of  whom  were  regulars  to  over¬ 
take  them.  Having  marched  about  six  miles,  he  was  sud¬ 
denly  attacked  by  a  body  of  Indians  who  were  concealed 
in  thickets  on  every  side  of  an  open  plain.  On  the  first 
onset,  the  militia  made  a  most  precipitrate  retreat,  leaving 
the  few,  but  brave  regulars  to  stand  the  charge.  The  con¬ 
flict  was  short  but  bloody.  The  regular  troops,  over  pow¬ 
ered  by  numbers,  were  literally  cut  to  pieces;  and  only 
seven  of  them  made  their  escape  and  rejoined  the  main 
army  at  the  Great  Miami  town.1 

[292]  Among  those  -who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  escape 
after  the  shameful  flight  of  the  militia,  was  Capt.  Arm¬ 
strong  of  the  regulars.  He  reached  a  pond  of  water 
about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  field  of  action;  and 
plunging  himself  up  to  the  neck  in  it,  remained  there  all 
night,  a  spectator  of  the  horrid  scene  of  a  savage  war 
dance,  performed  over  the  dead  and  wounded  bodies  of  his 
brave  soldiers.  The  escape  of  ensign  Hartshorn  was  per¬ 
haps  owing  entirely  to  a  lucky  accident.  As  he  was  fly¬ 
ing  at  his  best  speed  he  faltered  over  a  log,  which  lay  in 
his  path,  and  by  the  side  of  which  he  concealed  himself 
from  the  view  of  the  savages. 

Notwithstanding  the  disastrous  termination  of  this 
engagement,  the  detachment  succeeded  in  reducing  the 
other  towns  to  ashes,  and  in  destroying  their  crops  of  corn 
and  other  provisions;  and  rejoining  the  main  army  under 
Gen.  Harmar,  commenced  their  return  to  Fort  Washing¬ 
ton.  Anxious  to  wipe  off  in  another  action,  the  disgrace 
which  he  felt  would  attach  to  the  defeat,  when  within 
eight  miles  of  Chilicothe,  Gen.  Harmar  halted  his  men, 
and  again  detached  Col.  Hardin  and  Major  Wylleys,  with 
five  hundred  militia  and  sixty  regulars,  to  find  the  enemy 
and  bring  them  to  an  engagement. 

Early  next  morning,  a  small  body  of  the  enemy  was 

1  A  third  expedition,  under  Maj.  J.  F.  Hamtramck,  went  against  the 
Wabash  Indians,  successfully  destroyed  several  deserted  villages,  and 
reached  Vincennes  without  loss. — R.  G.  T. 


39S 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

discovered,  and  being  attacked,  fled  in  different  direc¬ 
tions. — The  militia  pursued  them  as  they  ran  in  despite  of 
orders;  and  when  by  this  means  the  regulars  were  left 
alone,  they  were  attacked  by  the  whole  force  of  the  Indi¬ 
ans,  excepting  the  small  parties  whose  flight  had  drawn 
off  the  militia.  A  severe  engagement  ensued.  The  sav¬ 
ages  fought  with  desperation ;  &  when  the  troops  which 
had  gone  in  pursuit  of  those  who  fled  upon  the  tirst  onset, 
returned  to  take  part  in  the  engagement,  they  threw  down 
their  guns  and  rushed  upon  the  regulars  tomahawk  in 
hand.  Many  of  them  fell,  but  being  so  very  far  superior 
in  numbers,  the  regulars  were  at  last  overpowered.  Their 
firmness  and  bravery  could  not  avail  much,  against  so  over¬ 
whelming  a  force  ;  for  though  one  of  them  might  thrust  his 
bayonet  into  the  side  of  an  Indian,  two  other  savages  were 
at  hand  to  sink  their  tomahawks  into  his  head.  In  his  offi¬ 
cial  account  of  this  battle,  Gen.  Harmar  claimed  the  victory; 
but  the  thinned  ranks  of  his  troops  shewed  that  they  had 
been  severely  worsted.  Fifty  of  the  regulars  and  one  hun¬ 
dred  of  the  militia  were  killed  in  the  contest,  and  many 
wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  no  doubt  considera¬ 
ble,  [293]  or  they  would  not  have  suffered  the  army  to  re¬ 
tire  to  Fort  Washington  unmolested.1 

Instead  of  the  security  from  savage  hostilities,  which 
it  was  expected  would  result  from  Harmar’s  campaign, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  frontier  suffered  from  them,  more 
than  they  had  been  made  to  endure  since  the  close  of  the 
war  with  Great  Britain.  Flushed  with  the  success  which 
had  crowned  their  exertions  to  repel  the  invasion  which 

1  In  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  October  29,  1790,  Governor 
St.  Clair  said  :  “  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  of  the  entire  suc¬ 
cess  of  Gen.  Harmar  at  the  Indian  towns  on  the  Miami  and  St.  Joseph 
Rivers,  of  which  he  has  destroyed  five  in  number,  and  a  very  great 
quantity  of  corn  and  other  vegetable  provisions.  It  is  supposed  that  about 
two  hundred  of  the  Indians  have  likewise  fallen  in  the  different  en¬ 
counters  that  have  happened  between  them  and  the  detachment,  for 
there  has  been  no  general  action  ;  but  it  has  not  been  without  consid¬ 
erable  loss  on  our  part.  ...  Of  the  Federal  troops,  Major  Wyllys 
and  Lieutenant  Frothingham  and  seventy-seven  men ;  of  the  militia, 
Major  Fontaine,  Captain  McMurtry,  and  Captain  Scott,  a  son  of  Gen¬ 
eral  Scott,  and  seventy-three  men,  are  among  the  slain.” — R.  G.  T. 


39  G 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


had  been  made  into  their  country,  and  infuriated  at  the 
destruction  of  their  crops  and  the  conflagration  of  their 
villages,  they  became  more  active  and  zealous  in  the  prose¬ 
cution  of  hostilities. 

The  settlements  which  had  been  recently  made  in 
Ohio  up  the  Muskingum,  had  ever  after  their  first  estab¬ 
lishment,  continued  apparently  on  the  most  friendly  terms 
with  the  Indians ;  but  on  the  part  of  the  savages,  friend¬ 
ship  had  only  been  feigned,  to  lull  the  whites  into  a  ruin¬ 
ous  security.  When  this  end  was  attained,  they  too 
were  made  to  feel  the  bitterness  of  savage  enmity.  On  the 
2d  of  January  1791,  a  party  of  Indians  came  to  the  Big 
Bottom,  and  commenced  an  indiscriminate  murder  of  the 
inhabitants  ;  fourteen  of  whom  were  killed  and  five  taken 
prisoners.  The  settlement  at  Wolf’s  creek  escaped  a  sim¬ 
ilar  fate,  by  being  apprized  of  the  destruction  of  Big  Bot¬ 
tom  by  two  men  who  got  safely  ofl‘  in  time  of  the  mas¬ 
sacre.  When  the  Indians  arrived  there  the  next  morn¬ 
ing,  finding  the  place  prepared  to  receive  them,  they  with¬ 
drew  without  making  any  serious  attempt  to  take  it. 

On  the  24th  of  April,  John  Bush  (living  on  Freeman’s 
creek,)  having  very  early  sent  two  of  his  children  to  drive 
up  the  cattle,  became  alarmed  by  their  screams,  and  taking 
down  his  gun,  was  proceeding  to  learn  the  cause  of  it, 
when  he  was  met  at  the  door  by  an  Indian,  who  caught 
hold  of  the  gun,  forced  it  from  his  grasp,  and  shot  him 
with  it.  Bush  fell  across  the  threshold,  and  the  savage 
drew  his  knife  to  scalp  him.  Mrs.  Bush  ran  to  the  as¬ 
sistance  of  her  husband,  and  with  an  axe,  aimed  a  blow 
at  the  Indian  with  such  force  that  it  fastened  itself  in  his 
shoulder,  and  when  he  jumped  back  his  exertion  pulled 
the  handle  from  her  hand.  She  then  drew  her  husband 
into  the  house  and  secured  the  door. 

In  this  time  other  of  the  savages  had  come  up,  and 
after  endeavoring  in  vain  to  force  open  the  door,  they  com¬ 
menced  shooting  through  it.  Fortunately  Mrs.  Bush  re¬ 
mained  unhurt,  although  eleven  bullets  passed  through 
her  frock  and  some  of  [294]  them  just  grazing  the  skin. 
One  of  the  savages  observing  an  aperture  between  the  logs, 
thrust  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  thro’  it.  With  another  axe 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


397 


Mrs.  Bush  struck  on  the  barrel  so  as  to  make  it  ring,  and, 
the  savage  on  drawing  it  back,  exclaimed  “Bern  you.” 
Still  they  were  endeavoring  to  force  an  entrance  into  the 
house,  until  they  heard  what  they  believed  to  be  a  party 
of  whites  coming  to  its  relief.  It  was  Adam  Bush,  who 
living  close  by  and  hearing  the  screams  of  the  children 
and  the  firing  of  the  gun,  had  set  otF  to  learn  what  had 
given  rise  to  them,  and  taking  with  him  his  dogs,  the 
noise  made  by  them  in  crossing  the  creek  alarmed  the  sav¬ 
ages,  and  caused  them  to  retreat,  takin’g  off  the  twro  chil¬ 
dren  as  prisoners.  A  company  of  men  were  soon  collected 
and  went  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians;  but  were  unable  to 
surprise  them  and  regain  the  prisoners.  They  however, 
came  so  nearly  upon  them,  on  the  Little  Kenhawa,1  that 
they  were  forced  to  fly  precipitately,  leaving  the  plunder 
and  seven  horses  which  they  had  taken  from  the  settlement : 
these  were  retaken  and  brought  back. 

In  May,  as  John  Mclntire  and  his  wife  were  returning 
from  a  visit,  they  passed  through  the  yard  of  Uriah  Ash¬ 
craft;  and  in  a  small  space  of  time  after,  Mr.  Ashcraft, 
startled  by  the  sudden  growling  and  springing  up  of  one 
of  his  dogs,  stepped  quickly  to  the  door  to  see  what  had 
aroused  him.  He  had  hardly  reached  the  door,  when  he 
espied  an  Indian  on  the  outside  with  his  gun  presented. 
Closing  and  making  fast  the  door,  he  ascended  the  stairs 
that  he  might  the  better  fire  upon  the  unwelcome  intruder; 
and  after  snapping  three  several  times,  and  having  discov¬ 
ered  that  there  were  other  Indians  in  the  yard,  he  raised 
a  loud  shout  to  apprize  those  who  were  within  the  sound 
of  his  voice,  that  he  was  surrounded  by  danger.  Upon 
this  the  Indians  moved  ofi‘;  and  three  brothers  of  Mclntire 
coming  to  his  relief,  they  all  pursued  the  trail  of  the  sav¬ 
ages.  About  a  mile  from  Ashcraft’s,  they  found  the  body 
of  John  Mclntire,  tomahawked,  scalped,  and  stripped; 
and  concluding  that  Mrs.  Mclntire,  was  taken  prisoner, 
they  sent  intelligence  to  Clarksburg  of  what  had  happened, 
and  requested  assistance  to  follow  the  Indians  and  recover 
the  prisoner  from  captivity.  The  desired  assistance  was 


1  Thirteen  miles  below  Marietta. — R.  G.  T. 


398 


Withers's  Chronicles 


immediately  afforded;  and  a  company  of  men,  led  on  by 
Col.  John  Haymond  and  Col.  George  Jackson,  went  in 
pursuit.  On  Middle  Island  creek,1  before  they  were  aware 
of  their  proximity  to  the  savages,  they  were  fired  upon  by 
them,  and  [295]  two  of  the  party  very  narrowly  escaped 
being  shot. — A  ball  passed  through  the  hankerchief  on  the 
head  of  Col.  Haymond,  and  another  through  the  sleeve 
of  Col.  Jackson’s  shirt.  The  fire  was  promptly  returned, 
and  the  men  rushed  forward.  The  Indians  however, 
made  good  their  retreat,  though  not  without  having  ex¬ 
perienced  some  injury;  as  was  discovered  by  the  blood, 
and  the  throwing  down  some  of  the  plunder  which  they 
had  taken.  It  was  here  first  ascertained  that  Mrs.  Mcln- 
tire  had  been  killed, — her  scalp  being  among  the  things 
left — and  on  the  return  of  the  party,  her  body  was  found 
some  small  distance  from  where  that  of  her  husband  had 
been  previously  discovered. 

Towards  the  last  of  June,  another  party  of  Indians  in¬ 
vaded  the  settlement  on  Dunkard  creek,  in  the  county  of 
Monongalia.  Early  in  the  morning,  as  Mr.  Clegg,  Mr. 
Handsucker,  and  two  of  Handsucker’s  sons  were  engaged 
at  work  in  a  cornfield  near  the  house,  they  were  shot  at  by 
some  concealed  savages,  and  Handsucker  was  wounded  and 
soon  overtaken.  Clegg  and  Handsucker’s  sons  ran  towards 
the  house,  and  the  former  entering  it,  defended  it  for 
a  while ;  but  confident  that  he  would  soon  be  driven  out  by 
fire,  he  surrendered  on  condition  that  they  would  spare  his 
life  and  that  of  his  little  daughter  with  him.  The  boys 
passed  the  house,  but  were  taken  by  some  of  the  savages 
who  were  also  concealed  in  the  direction  which  they  ran, 
and  who  had  just  made  captive  Mrs.  Handsucker  and  her 
infant.  They  then  plundered  and  set  fire  to  the  house, 
caught  the  horses  and  made  off'  with  the  prisoners,  leav¬ 
ing  one  of  their  company,  as  usual,  to  watch  after  their 
retreat. 

When  the  firing  was  first  heard,  Mrs.  Clegg  being  some 
distance  from  the  house,  concealed  herself  in  the  creek, 

1  Eighteen  miles  above  Marietta,  and  one  above  St.  Mary’s, W.Va. — 
R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


399 


under  some  projecting  bashes,  until  every  thing  became 
quiet.  She  then  crept  out,  but  perceiving  the  Indian  who 
had  remained  near  the  burning  house,  she  took  to  flight;  and 
he  having  at  the  same  time  discovered  her,  ran  in  pursuit. 
She  was  so  far  in  advance,  and  ran  so  well,  that  the  sav¬ 
age,  despairing  of  overtaking  her,  raised  his  gun  and  tired 
as  she  ran.  The  ball  just  grazed  the  top  of  her  shoulder, 
but  not  impeding  her  flight,  she  got  safely  off.  Mr.  Hand- 
sucker,  his  wife  and  child,  were  murdered  on  the  dividing 
ridge  between  Dunkard  and  Fish  creeks.1  Mr.  Cleggafter 
some  time  got  back,  and  upon  the  close  of  the  Indian  war, 
ransomed  his  two  daughters. 

[296]  In  the  month  of  September  Nicholas  Carpenter 
set  off  to  Marietta  with  a  drove  of  cattle  to  sell  to  those 
who  had  established  themselves  there ;  and  when  within 
some  miles  from  the  Ohio  river,  encamped  for  the  night.2 
In  the  morning  early,  and  while  he  and  the  drovers  were 
yet  dressing,  they  were  alarmed  by  a  discharge  of  guns, 
which  killed  one  and  wounded  another  of  his  party.  The 
others  endeavored  to  save  themselves  by  flight;  but  Car¬ 
penter  being  a  cripple  (because  of  a  wound  received  some 
years  before)  did  not  run  far,  when  finding  himself  becom¬ 
ing  faint,  he  entered  a  pond  of  water  where  he  fondly 
hoped  he  should  escape  observation.  But  no !  both  he 
and  a  son  who  had  likewise  sought  security  there,  were 
discovered,  tomahawked  and  scalped.  George  Legget, 
one  of  the  drovers,  was  never  after  heard  of;  but  Jesse 
Hughes  succeeded  in  getting  off  though  under  disadvan¬ 
tageous  circumstances.  He  wore  long  leggins,  and  when 
the  firing  commenced  at  the  camp,  they  were  fastened  at 
top  to  his  belt,  but  hanging  loose  below.  Although  an 
active  runner,  yet  he  found  that  the  pursuers  were  gain- 

1  Dunkard  Creek  flows  eastward  into  the  Monongahela.  Fish  Creek 
flows  southwestward  into  the  Ohio,  emptying  113  miles  below  Pittsburg, 
and  58  above  Marietta.  A  famous  Indian  war-trail  ran  up  Fish  and 
down  Dunkard — a  short-cut  from  Ohio  to  the  western  borders  of  Penn¬ 
sylvania  and  Virginia. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Soon  after  the  establishment  of  Marietta,  a  rude  wagon  road  was 
opened  through  the  forest  between  that  colony  and  Redstone  (Browns¬ 
ville,  Pa.)  This  was  the  road  Carpenter  was  following. — R.  G.  T. 


400 


Withers's  Chronicles 


ing  and  must  ultimately  overtake  him  if  he  did  not  rid 
himself  of  this  incumbrance.  For  this  purpose  he  halted 
somewhat  and  stepping  on  the  lower  part  of  his  leggins, 
broke  the  strings  which  tied  them  to  his  belt;  but  before 
he  accomplished  this,  one  of  the  savages  approached  and 
hurled  a  tomahawk  at  him.  It  merely  grazed  his  head, 
and  he  then  again  took  to  flight  and  soon  got  oft*. 

It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  Indians  by 
whom  this  mischief  was  effected,  had  crossed  the  Ohio 
river  near  the  mouth  of  Little  Kenhawa,  where  they 
took  a  negro  belonging  to  Captain  James  Neal,  and  con¬ 
tinued  on  towards  the  settlements  on  West  Fork,  until 
they  came  upon  the  trail  made  by  Carpenter's  cattle. 
Supposing  that  they  belonged  to  families  moving,  they 
followed  on  until  they  came  upon  the  drovers;  and  tying 
the  negro  to  a  sapling  made  an  attack  on  them.  The 
negro  availed  himself  of  their  employment  elsewhere, 
and  loosing  the  bands  which  fastened  him,  returned  to  his 
master. 

After  the  defeat  of  General  Harmer,  the  terrors  and 
the  annoyance  proceeding  from  Indian  hostilities,  still  con¬ 
tinued  to  harrass  Kentucky,  and  to  spread  destruction 
over  its  unprotected  portions.  Seeing  that  the  expeditions 
of  the  savages  were  yet  conducted  on  a  small  scale,  the 
better  to  effect  their  purposes,  the  inhabitants  had  recourse 
to  other  measures  [297]  of  defence;  and  established  many 
posts  on  the  frontier,  garrisoned  by  a  few  men,  to  watch 
the  motions  of  the  enemy,  and  intercept  them  in  their  pro¬ 
gress,  or  spread  the  alarm  of  their  approach.  It  was  pro¬ 
ductive  of  but  little  benefit,  and  all  were  convinced,  that 
successful  offensive  war  could  alone  give  security  from  In¬ 
dian  aggression.  Convinced  of  this,  preparations  were 
made  by  the  General  Government  for  another  campaign 
to  be  carried  on  against  them;  the  objects  of  which  were 
the  destruction  of  the  Indian  villages  between  the  Miamies; 
the  expulsion  of  their  inhabitants  from  the  country,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  chain  of  forts  to  prevent  their  re¬ 
turn,  until  a  general  peace  should  give  promise  of  a  cessa¬ 
tion  of  hostilities  on  their  part.  Means,  deemed  adequate 
to  the  accomplishment  of  those  objects,  were  placed  by 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


401 


Congress  at  the  disposal  of  the  executive,  and  of  the  army 
destined  to  effect  them,  lie  directed  General  Arthur  St. 
Clair  to  take  the  command.1 

It  was  some  time  before  the  troops  detailed  for  this 
campaign,  could  be  assembled  at  Fort  Washington  ;  but  as 
soon  as  they  rendezvoused  there,  the  line  of  march  was 
taken  up.2  Proceeding  immediately  for  the  principal  es¬ 
tablishments  of  the  Indians  on  the  Miami,  General  St. 
Clair  had  erected  the  Forts  Hamilton  and  Jefferson,3  and 
placing  sufficient  garrisons  in  each,  continued  his  march. 
The  opening  of  a  road  for  the  passage  of  the  troops  and 
artillery,  necessarily  consumed  much  time;  and  while  it 
was  in  progress,  small  parties  of  the  enemy  were  often 
seen  hovering  near,  and  some  unimportant  skirmishes  took 
place;  and  as  the  army  approached  the  Indian  villages, 
sixty  of  the  militia  deserted  in  a  body.  To  prevent  the 
evil  influence  of  this  example,  General  St.  Clair  despatched 
Major  Hamtrack  at  the  head  of  a  regiment,  to  overtake 
and  bring  them  back ;  and  the  rest  of  the  army  moved 
forward. 

On  the  night  of  the  third  of  November,  General  St. 
Clair  encamped  near  the  Great  Miami  village,  and  not¬ 
withstanding  the  reduced  state  of  the  forces  under  his  com¬ 
mand,  (by  reason  of  the  detachment  of  so  large  a  body  in 
pursuit  of  the  deserters,)  he  proposed  to  march  in  the 
morning  directly  to  its  attack.4  Having  understood  that 
the  Indians  were  collected  in  great  force,  and  apprehensive 
of  a  night  attack,  his  men  were  drawn  up  in  a  square,  and 

1  With  Gen.  Richard  Butler,  who  was  killed  in  the  final  battle, 
second  in  command. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Early  in  September,  1791.  St.  Clair  had  2,000  men,  fifty  per  cent 
less  than  had  been  promised  him  by  the  war  department. — R.  G.  T. 

3  Fort  Hamilton,  a  stockade  with  four  bastions,  was  on  the  Big 
Miami,  24  miles  from  Fort  Washington  (Cincinnati),  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Hamilton,  O.  Fort  Jefferson,  built  of  logs  laid  horizontally, 
was  six  miles  south  of  the  present  Greenville,  O.  The  army  left  Fort 
Jefferson,  October  24. — R.  G.  T. 

4  The  army  then  numbered  1,400  men,  and  was  encamped  at  the 
site  of  the  present  Fort  Recovery,  O.,  55  miles  away,  as  the  crow  flies, 
from  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  the  objective  point  of  the  expedition. — 
R.  G.  T. 

26 


402 


Withers' b  Chronicles 


kept  under  arms  until  the  return  of  day,  when  they  were 
dismissed  from  parade  for  [298]  the  purpose  of  refresh¬ 
ment.  Directly  after,  and  about  half  an  hour  before  sun 
rise,  an  attack  was  begun  by  the  Indians  on  the  rear  line, 
and  the  militia  there  immediately  gave  way,  and  retreated, — 
rushing  through  a  battalion  of  regulars,  to  the  very  centre 
of  the  camp.  The  confusion  was  great.  Thrown  into 
disorder  by  the  tumultuous  flight  of  the  militia,  the  ut¬ 
most  exertion  of  the  oflicers  could  not  entirely  compose 
the  regulars,  so  as  to  render  them  as  effective  as  they 
would  otherwise  have  been. 

After  the  first  fire,  the  Indians  rushed  forward,  toma¬ 
hawk  in  hand,  until  they  were  checked  by  the  well  di¬ 
rected  aim  of  the  front  line  ;  which  being  almost  simul¬ 
taneously  attacked  by  another  body  of  the  enemy,  had  to 
direct  their  attention  to  their  own  assailants,  and  the  ac¬ 
tion  became  general.  The  weight  of  the  enemy  being 
brought  to  bear  on  the  centre  of  each  line  where  the 
artillery  had  been  placed,  the  men  were  driven  with  great 
slaughter  from  the  guns  and  these  rendered  useless  by  the 
killing  of  the  matrosses.  The  enemy  taking  advantage 
of  this  state  of  things,  pushed  forward  upon  the  lines,  and 
confusion  began  to  spread  itself  in  every  quarter.  A 
charge  was  ordered,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Drake  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  driving  back  the  Indians  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet;  but  rallying,  they  re¬ 
turned  to  the  attack,  and  the  troops  in  turn  gave  way. 
At  this  moment  the  camp  was  entered  by  the  left  flank : 
and,  another  charge  was  directed.  This  was  made  by 
Butler  and  Clark’s  battalions  with  great  effect,  and  re¬ 
peated  several  times  with  success ;  but  in  each  of  these 
charges,  many  being  killed,  and  particularly  the  officers, 
it  was  impossible  longer  to  sustain  the  conflict,  and  a  re¬ 
treat  was  directed. 

To  enable  the  troops  to  effect  this  they  were  again 
formed  into  line,  as  well  as  could  be  under  such  circum¬ 
stances,  and  another  charge  was  made,  as  if  to  turn  the 
right  flank  of  the  enemy,  but  in  reality  to  gain  the  road. 
This  object  was  effected ;  and  a  precipitate  flight  com¬ 
menced  which  continued  until  they  reached  Fort  Jeffer- 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


403 


son,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  the  men  throwing  away 
their  guns  and  accoutrements  as  they  ran. 

Great  was  the  havoc  done  by  the  Indians  in  this  en¬ 
gagement.  Of  the  twelve  hundred  men  engaged  under 
General  St.  Clair,  nearly  six  hundred  were  left  dead  on 
the  held,  and  many  were  wounded.  Every  officer  of  the 
second  regiment  [299]  was  killed  in  the  various  charges 
made  by  it  to  retrieve  the  day,  except  three,  and  one  of 
these  was  shot  through  the  body.  Major  General  Butler 
having  been  wounded,  and  carried  to  a  convenient  place  to 
have  his  wounds  dressed,  an  Indian  desperately  adventur¬ 
ous,  broke  through  the  guard  in  attendance,  rushed  up, 
tomahawked  and  scalped  him,  before  his  own  life  paid  the 
forfeit  of  his  rashness.  General  St.  Clair  had  many  nar¬ 
row  escapes.1  Early  in  the  action,  a  number  of  savages 
surrounded  his  tent  and  seemed  resolved  on  entering:  it 
and  sacrificing  him.  They  were  with  difficulty  restrained 
by  some  regular  soldiers  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet. 
During  the  engagement  eight  balls  passed  through  his 
clothes,  and  while  the  troops  were  retreating,  having  had 
his  own  horse  killed,  and  being  mounted  on  a  sorry  beast, 
“  which  could  not  be  pricked  out  of  a  walk,”  he  had  to 
make  his  way  to  Fort  Jefferson  as  he  could,  considerably 
in  the  rear  of  the  men.  During  the  action  Adjutant  Bul- 
gess  received  a  severe  wound,  hut  yet  continued  to  fight 
with  distinguished  gallantry.  Presently  a  second  shot 
took  effect  and  he  fell.  A  woman  who  was  particularly 
attached  to  him  had  accompanied  him  in  the  campaign, 
raised  him  up,  and  while  supporting  him  in  her  arms,  re¬ 
ceived  a  ball  in  the  breast  which  killed  her  instantly. 

The  Chicasaws  were  then  in  amity  with  the  whites, 
and  some  of  their  warriors  were  to  have  co  operated  with 
Gen.  St.  Clair,  but  did  not  arrive  in  time.  There  was 

1  He  lay  sick  in  his  tent,  when  the  action  opened,  but  arose  and 
acted  with  remarkable  courage  throughout  the  tight.  General  Butler 
wTas  acting  commandant  while  St.  Clair  was  ill,  and  was  credibly  in¬ 
formed  by  his  scouts,  the  night  before  the  battle,  of  the  proximity  of  the 
enemy.  But  he  took  no  precautions  against  surprise,  neither  did  he 
communicate  his  newTs  to  his  superior.  Upon  Butler’s  head  appears  to 
rest  much  of  the  blame  for  the  disaster. — R.  G.  T. 


404 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


however  one  of  that  nation  in  the  engagement,  and  he 
killed  and  scalped  eleven  of  the  enemy  with  his  own 
hands,  and  while  engaged  with  the  twelfth  was  himself 
killed,  to  the  regret  of  those  who  witnessed  his  deeds  of 
daring  and  of  courage. 

According  to  the  statement  of  the  Indians,  they 
killed  six  hundred  and  twenty  of  the  American  troops, 
and  took  seven  pieces  of  cannon,  two  hundred  head  of 
oxen,  many  horses,  but  no  prisoners.1  They  gave  their 
own  loss  in  killed  at  only  sixty-five ;  but  it  was  no  doubt 
much  greater.  Their  force  consisted  of  four  thousand 
warriors,  and  was  led  on  by  a  Missasago  chief  who  had 
served  with  the  British  in  the  late  war ;  and  who  planned 
and  conducted  the  attack  contrary  to  the  opinion  of  a 
majority  of  the  chiefs,  who  yet,  having  such  confidence 
in  his  skill  and  judgment,  yielded  their  individual  plans 
and  gave  to  him  the  entire  control  of  their  movements. 
He  is  reported  to  have  caused  the  savages  to  forbear  the 
pursuit  of  the  retreating  troops;  telling  them  that  they 
had  killed  enough,  and  it  was  time  to  enjoy  the  booty 
they  had  gained  with  the  victory.  He  was  then  about 
forty-five  years  of  age,  six  feet  in  height,  and  of  a 
[300]  sour,  morose  countenance.  His  dress  was  Indian 
leggins  and  moccasons,  a  blue  petticoat  coming  half  way 
down  his  thighs,  and  European  waistcoat  and  surtout. 
His  head  was  bound  with  an  Indian  cap,  reaching  midway 
his  back,  and  adorned  with  upwards  of  two  hundred  silver 
ornaments.  In  each  ear  he  had  two  ear  rings,  the  upper 
part  of  each  of  which  was  formed  of  three  silver  meddles 
of  the  size  of  a  dollar;  the  lower  part  consisted  of  quar¬ 
ters  of  dollars,  and  more  than  a  foot  in  length ;  one  from 
each  ear  hanging  down  his  breast, — the  others  over  his 
back.  In  his  nose  he  wore  ornaments  of  silver  curiously 
wrought  and  painted. 

Two  days  after  the  action  the  warriors  from  the  Chic- 

2  The  Americans  lost  37  officers  and  593  men,  killed  and  missing,  and 
31  officers  and  252  men,  wounded.  See  St.  Clair  Papers,  edited  by  Will¬ 
iam  Henry  Smith  (Cincinnati :  .Robert  Clarke  &  Co.,  1882),  for  official  de¬ 
tails  of  the  disaster.  For  Simon  Girty’s  part,  consult  Butterfield’s  His¬ 
tory  of  the  Girtys,  passim. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


405 


asaw  nation  arrived  at  Fort  Jefferson,  under  the  command 
of  Piomingo,  or  the  “  Mountain  Leader.”  On  their  march 
they  heard  of  the  fatal  battle,  and  saw  one  of  the  enemy; 
who  mistaking  Piomingo’s  party  for  some  of  his  own  com¬ 
rades,  made  up  to  them.  He  discovered  the  mistake  when 
it  was  too  late  to  rectify  it.  Piomingo  accosted  him  in  harsh 
tones,  saying — “  Pascal,  you  have  been  killing  the  whites,” 
and  immediately  ordered  two  of  his  warriors  to  expand 
his  arms,  and  a  third  to  shoot  him.  This  was  done  and  his 
scalp  taken. 

After  the  disastrous  termination  of  this  campaign,1 
the  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  were  as  much  as,  or  perhaps 
more  than  ever,  exposed  to  savage  enmity  and  those  in¬ 
cursions  which  mark  the  bitterness  of  Indian  resentment. 
Soon  after  the  retreat  of  the  army  under  Gen.  Sinclair, 
a  party  of  them  came  upon  Salt  river,  where  two  men 
and  some  boys  were  fishing;  and  falling  suddenly  upon 
them  killed  the  men  and  made  prisoners  of  the  boys. 
They  then  liberated  one  of  the  boys,  and  giving  him  a 
tomahawk,  directed  him  to  go  home ;  shew  it  to  his 
friends;  inform  them  what  had  been  the  fate  of  his  com¬ 
panions,  and  what  they  were  to  expect  for  their  own.  The 
threat  was  fearfully  executed.  Many  families  were  en¬ 
tirely  cut  off  and  many  individuals  sacrificed  to  their  fury. 
Companies  of  Indians  were  constantly  traversing  the 
country  in  secret,  and  committing  depredations,  wherever 
they  supposed  it  could  be  done  with  impunity.  A  re¬ 
markable  instance  of  their  failure  and  suffering  in  at¬ 
tempting  to  form  an  entrance  into  a  house  where  was  an 
almost  unprotected  family,  deserves  to  be  particularly 
mentioned. 

On  the  24th  of  December  1791,  a  party  of  savages  at¬ 
tacked  the  house  of  John  Merril,  in  Kelson  county.  Mr. 
Merril,  alarmed  by  the  barking  of  the  dogs,  hastened  to 
the  door  to  learn  the  cause. — On  opening  it,  he  was  fired 
at  by  two  Indians  and  his  leg  and  arm  were  both  broken. 
The  savages  then  ran  forward  to  enter  the  house,  but  be- 

lSt.  Clair  arrived  at  Fort  Washington,  on  his  return,  November  8 
— R.  G.  T. 


406 


Withers's  Chronicles 


fore  they  could  do  this,  the  door  was  closed  and  secured  by 
Mrs.  Merril  and  her  daughter.  After  a  fruitless  attempt  to 
force  it  open,  they  commenced  hewing  off  a  part  of  it  with 
their  tomahawks,  and  when  a  passage  was  thus  opened,  one  of 
them  attempted  to  enter  through  it.  The  heroic  Mrs.  Merril, 
in  the  midst  of  her  screaming  and  affrighted  children,  and 
her  groaning  suffering  husband,  seized  an  axe,  gave  the  ruf¬ 
fian  a  fatal  blow,  and  [301]  instantly  drewhim  into  the  house. 
Supposing  that  their  end  was  now  nearly  attained,  the  others 
pressed  forward  to  gain  admittance  through  the  same  aper¬ 
ture.  Four  of  them  were  in  like  manner  despatched  by 
Mrs.  Merril,  before  their  comrades  were  aware  that  any 
opposition  was  making  in  the  house.  Discovering  their 
mistake  the  survivors  retired  for  awhile,  and  returning, 
two  of  them  endeavored  to  gain  admittance  by  climbings 
to  the  top  of  the  house,  and  descending  in  the  chimney, 
while  the  third  was  to  exert  himself  at  the  door.  Satisfied 
from  the  noise  on  the  top  of  the  house,  of  the  object  of  the 
Indians,  Mr.  Merril  directed  his  little  son  to  rip  open  a 
bed  and  cast  its  contents  on  the  fire.  This  produced  the 
desired  effect. — The  smoke  and  heat  occasioned  by  the 
burning  of  the  feathers  brought  the  two  Indians  down, 
rather  unpleasantly;  and  Mr.  Merril  somewhat  recovered, 
exerted  every  faculty,  and  with  a  billet  of  wood  soon  de¬ 
spatched  those  half  smothered  devils.  Mrs.  Merril  was  all 
this  while  busily  engaged  in  defending  the  door  against 
the  efforts  of  the  only  remaining  savage,  whom  she  at 
length  wounded  so  severely  with  the  axe,  that  he  was  glad 
to  get  off  alive. 

A  prisoner,  who  escaped  from  the  Indians  soon  after 
the  happening  of  this  transaction,  reported  that  the 
wounded  savage  was  the  only  one,  of  a  party  of  eight, 
who  returned  to  their  towns;  that  on  being  asked  by  some 
one,  “  what  news,” — he  replied,  “  bad  news  for  poor  In¬ 
dian,  me  lose  a  son,  me  lose  a  brother, — the  squaws  have 
taken  the  breech  clout,  and  fight  worse  than  the  Long 
Knives.” 

The  frequent  commission  of  the  most  enormous  out¬ 
rages,  led  to  an  expedition  against  the  Indians,  carried 
on  by  the  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  alone.  An  army  of 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


407 


one  thousand  mounted  volunteers  was  raised,  and  the 
command  of  it  being  given  to  Gen.  Scott,  he  marched  imme¬ 
diately  for  their  towns.1  When  near  them,  he  sent  out  two 
spies  to  learn  the  state  of  the  enemy ;  who  reported  that 
they  had  seen  a  large  body  of  Indians,  not  far  from  the 
fatal  spot  where  St.  Clair’s  bloody  battle  had  been  fought, 
enjoying  themselves  with  the  plunder  there  taken,  riding 
the  oxen,  and  acting  in  every  respect  as  if  drunk.  Gen. 
Scott  immediately  gave  orders  to  move  forward  briskly; 
and  arranging  his  men  into  three  divisions,  soon  came  upon 
and  attacked  the  savages.  The  contest  was  short  but  de¬ 
cisive. — Two  hundred  of  the  enemy  were  killed  ou  the 
spot,  the  cannon  and  such  of  the  other  stores  as  were  in 
their  possession,  retaken,  and  the  savage  forces  completely 
routed.  The  loss  of  the  Kentuckians  was  inconsider¬ 
able, — only  six  men  were  killed  and  but  few  wounded. 

Gen.  Scott  on  bis  return,  gave  an  affecting  account  of 
the  appearance  of  the  field,  where  Gen.  St.  Clair  had  been 
encountered  by  the  savages.  “The  plain,”  said  he,  “had 
a  very  melancholy  appearance.  In  the  space  of  three  hun¬ 
dred  and  fifty  yards,  lay  three  hundred  skull  bones,  which 
were  buried  by  my  men  while  on  the  ground  ;  from  thence 
for  miles  on,  and  the  road  was  strewed  with  skeletons, 
muskets,  &c.”  A  striking  picture  of  the  desolation  wrought 
there  on  the  bloody  fourth  of  November. 

1  This  expedition  under  Gen.  Charles  Scott,  one  of  the  Kentucky 
committee  of  safety,  was  made  in  June,  1791,  against  the  Miami  and 
Wabash  Indians.  It  was  followed  in  August  by  a  second  expedition 
under  Gen.  James  Wilkinson.  In  the  course  of  the  second  campaign,  at 
the  head  of  500  Kentuckians,  Wilkinson  laid  waste  the  Miami  village  of 
L’Anguille,  killing  and  capturing  42  of  the  savages. — R.  G.  T. 


408 


Withers's  Chronicles 


[302]  CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Heither  the  signal  success  of  the  expedition  under 
General  Scott,  nor  the  preparations  which  were  being 
made  by  the  general  government,  for  the  more  rigorous 
prosecution  of  the  war  against  them,  caused  the  Indians 
to  relax  their  exertions  to  harrass  the  frontier  inhabitants. 
The  ease  with  which  they  had  overcome  the  two  armies 
sent  against  them  under  Ilarmar  and  St.  Clair,  inspired 
them  with  contempt  for  our  troops,  and  induced  a  belief 
of  their  own  invincibility,  if  practising  the  vigilance 
necessary  to  guard  against  a  surprise.  To  the  want  of 
this  vigilance,  they  ascribed  the  success  of  Gen.  Scott; 
aiid  deeming  it  necessary  only  to  exercise  greater  pre¬ 
caution  to  avoid  similar  results,  they  guarded  more  dili¬ 
gently  the  passes  into  their  country,  while  discursive 
parties  of  their  warriors  would  perpetrate  their  accus¬ 
tomed  acts  of  aggression  upon  the  persons  and  property 
ot  the  whites. 

About  the  middle  of  May,  1792,  a  party  of  savages 
came  upon  a  branch  of  Hacker’s  creek,  and  approaching 
late  in  the  evening  a  field  recently  cleared  by  John  Wag¬ 
goner,  found  him  seated  on  a  log,  resting  himself  after  the 
labors  of  the  day.  In  this  company  of  Indians  was  the 
since  justly  celebrated  General  Tecumseh,  who  leaving 
his  companions  to  make  sure  of  those  in  the  house,  placed 
his  gun  on  the  fence  and  fired  deliberately  at  Waggoner. 
The  leaden  messenger  of  death  failed  of  its  errand,  and 
passing  through  the  sleeve  of  his  shirt,  left  Waggoner  un¬ 
injured,  to  try  his  speed  with  the  Indian.  Taking  a  di¬ 
rection  opposite  the  house,  to  avoid  coming  in  contact 
with  the  savages  there,  he  outstripped  his  pursuer,  and  got 
safely  off. 

[303]  In  the  mean  time,  those  who  had  been  left  to 
operate  against  those  of  the  family  who  were  at  the  house, 
finding  a  small  boy  in  the  yard,  killed  and  scalped  him; 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


409 


and  proceeding  on,  made  prisoners  of  Mrs.  Waggoner  and 
her  six  children,  and  departed  immediately  with  them,  lest 
the  escape  of  her  husband,  should  lead  to  their  instant 
pursuit.  They  were  disappointed  in  this  expectation.  A 
company  of  men  was  soon  collected,  who  repaired  to  the 
then  desolate  mansion,  and  from  thence  followed  on  the 
trail  of  the  savages.  About  a  mile  from  the  house,  one  of 
the  children  was  found  where  its  brains  had  been  beaten 
out  with  a  club,  and  the  scalp  torn  from  its  head.  A  small 
distance  farther,  lay  Mrs.  Waggoner  and  two  others  of  her 
children, — their  lifeless  bodies  mangled  in  the  most  bar¬ 
barous  and  shocking  manner.  Having  thus  freed  them¬ 
selves  from  the  principal  impediments  to  a  rapid  retreat, 
the  savages  hastened  on  ;  and  the  pursuit  was  unavailing. 
They  reached  their  towns  with  the  remaining  prisoners — 
two  girls  and  a  boy — and  avoided  chastisement  for  the  out¬ 
rage.  The  elder  of  the  two  girls  did  not  long  remain  with 
them;  but  escaping  to  the  neighborhood  of  Detroit  with 
another  female  prisoner,  continued  there  until  after  the 
treaty  of  1795.  Her  sister  abided  with  her  captors  ’till  the 
close  of  the  war;  and  the  boy  until  during  the  war  of 
1812.  He  was  then  seen  among  some  friendly  Indians, 
and  hearing  a  strong  resemblance  in  features  to  his  father, 
was  recognized  as  Waggoner’s  captive  son.  He  had  mar¬ 
ried  a  squaw,  by  whom  he  had  several  children,  was  at¬ 
tached  to  his  manner  of  life,  and  for  a  time  resisted  every 
importunity,  to  withdraw  himself  from  among  them. 
When  his  father  visited  him,  it  was  with  difficulty  he  was 
enticed  to  return  to  the  haunts  of  his  childhood,  and  the 
associates  of  his  younger  days,  even  on  a  temporary  visit. 
When  however  he  did  return  to  them,  the  attention  and 
kindly  conduct  of  his  friends,  prevailed  with  him  to  re¬ 
main,  until  he  married  and  took  up  his  permanent  abode 
amid  the  habitations  of  civilized  men.  Still  with  the  feel¬ 
ings  natural  to  a  father,  his  heart  yearns  towards  his  chil¬ 
dren  in  the  forest;  and  at  times  he  seems  to  lament  that 
he  ever  forsook  them.1 

1  Drake,  in  Aboriginal  Races  of  North  America  (loth  ed.),  p.  616,  cites 
the  Waggoner  massacre  as  “the  first  exploit  in  which  we  findTecumseh 
engaged/’  L.  V.  McWhorter  sends  me  this  interesting  note,  giving  the 


410 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


In  the  summer  of  this  year,  a  parcel  of  horses  were 
taken  from  the  West  Fork,  and  the  Indians  who  had 
stolen  them,  being  discovered  as  they  were  retiring,  they 
were  pursued  by  Captain  Coburn,  who  was  stationed  at 

local  tradition  regarding  the  affair:  “John  Waggoner  lived  on  Jesse’s 
Run,  more  than  two  miles  above  its  junction  with  Hacker’s  Creek. 
While  engaged  in  burning  logs  in  his  clearing,  he  was  sitting  upon  a 
log,  with  a  handspike  lying  across  his  lap.  It  was  thought  that  Tecum- 
seh  mistook  this  tool  for  a  gun,  and  was  nervous.  But  three  in  number, 
the  Indians  had  entered  the  district  with  some  trepidation.  Over  Sun¬ 
day,  while  the  settlers  wrere  holding  religious  services  in  West’s  Fort, 
the  savages  lay  in  a  neighboring  ravine.  The  dogs  of  the  settlement 
barked  furiously  at  them,  and  ran  toward  their  hiding  place,  trying  to 
lead  their  masters ;  but  the  latter  supposed  that  the  animals  had  merely 
scented  wolves,  hence  paid  no  attention  to  them.  Tecumseh  was  but 
thirty  paces  from  Waggoner  when  he  fired,  and  it  is  singular  that  he 
missed,  for  the  latter  was  a  large  man  and  in  fair  view.  Waggoner 
sprang  up  and  started  for  his  cabin,  a  short  distance  only,  but  wrhen 
about  fifteen  yards  away  saw  an  Indian  chasing  one  of  the  children 
around  the  house.  Waggoner  was  unarmed ;  his  gun  was  in  the  house, 
but  he  feared  to  enter,  so  ran  for  help  to  the  cabin  of  Hardman,  a 
neighbor.  But  Hardman  was  out  hunting,  and  there  was  no  gun  left 
there.  The  screams  of  his  family  were  now  plainly  heard  by  Wag¬ 
goner,  and  he  was  with  difficulty  restrained  from  rushing  back  to  help 
them,  unarmed.  Jesse  Hughes  carried  the  news  into  the  fort,  and  a 
rescue  party  at  once  set  out.  Mrs.  Waggoner  and  her  three  youngest 
children  had  been  carried  across  the  ridge  to  where  is  now  Rev.  Mans¬ 
field  McWhorter’s  farm,  on  McKenley’s  Run,  and  here  they  were  toma¬ 
hawked  and  scalped.  Henry  McWhorter  helped  to  carry  the  bodies  to 
the  fort,  but  made  no  mention  of  their  being  ‘  mangled  in  the  most  bar¬ 
barous  and  shocking  manner.’  ” 

The  boy  Peter,  then  eight  years  old,  remained  with  the  Indians 
for  twenty  years.  The  manner  of  his  return,  as  related  to  me  by  Mr. 
McWhorter,  was  singular,  and  furnishes  an  interesting  and  instructive 
romance  of  the  border.  One  Baker,  one  of  John  Waggoner’s  neighbors, 
went  to  Ohio  to  “squat,”  and  on  Paint  Creek  saw  Peter  with  a  band  of 
Indians,  recognizing  him  by  the  strong  family  resemblance.  Baker  at 
once  wrote  to  the  elder  Waggoner,  telling  him  of  his  discovery,  and  the 
latter  soon  visited  the  Paint  Creek  band,  with  a  view  to  inducing  his 
son  to  return  home.  But  Peter  was  loth  to  go.  He  was  united  to  a 
squaw,  and  by  her  had  two  children.  In  tears,  she  bitterly  opposed 
his  going.  When  finally  he  yielded  to  parental  appeals,  he  promised  her 
he  would  soon  be  back  again.  When  the  time  for  his  return  to  the 
forest  came,  his  relatives  kept  him  under  guard ;  when  it  had  passed, 
he  was  afraid  to  return  to  his  Indian  relatives,  having  broken  his  word. 
Gradually  he  became  reconciled  in  a  measure  to  his  new  surroundings, 
but  was  ever  melancholy,  frequently  lamenting  that  he  had  left  his 
savage  family.  “Some  time  after  his  return  to  civilization,”  continues 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


411 


the  mouth  of  Little  [304]  Kenhawa  with  a  party  of  men 
as  scouts.  Following  them  across  the  Ohio  river,  lie 
overtook  them  some  distance  in  the  Indian  country,  and 
retaking  the  horses,  returned  to  his  station.  Hitherto 
property  recovered  from  the  savages,  had  been  invariably 
restored  to  those  from  whom  it  had  been  stolen;  but  on 
the  present  occasion  a  different  course  was  pursued.  Con¬ 
tending  that  they  received  compensation  for  services  ren¬ 
dered  by  them  in  Virginia,  and  were  not  bound  to  treat 
without  its  limits  in  pursuit  of  the  savages  or  to  retake 
the  property  of  which  they  had  divested  its  rightful  own¬ 
ers,  they  claimed  the  horses  as  plunder  taken  from  the 
Indians,  sold  them,  and  divided  the  proceeds  of  sale 
among  themselves — much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  those 
from  whom  the  savages  had  taken  them.* 1 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  fall,  Ilenry  Heal,  William 
Triplett  and  Daniel  Howell,  from  Heal’s  station  ascended 
the  Little  Kenhawa  in  canoes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Burn¬ 
ing  Spring  run,  from  whence  they  proceeded  on  a  Buffoloe 
hunt  in  the  adjoining  woods.  But  they  had  been  seen  as 
they  plied  their  canoes  up  the  river,  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
who  no  sooner  saw  them  placed  in  a  situation  favoring  the 
bloody  purposes  of  their  hearts,  than  they  fired  upon  them. 
Heal  and  Triplett  were  killed,  and  fell  into  the  river. — 
Howell  was  missed  and  escaped  by  swimming  the  Kenhawa, 
the  Indians  shooting  at  him  as  he  swam.  In  a  few  days 

McWhorter,  “an  Indian  woman,  supposed  to  be  his  wife,  passed 
through  the  Hacker  Creek  settlements,  inquiring  for  Peter,  and  going 
on  toward  the  East.  She  appeared  to  be  demented,  and  sang  snatches 
of  savage  songs.  Peter  never  knew  of  her  presence,  nor  would  any 
one  inform  her  of  his  whereabouts.  He  was  reticent  about  his  life 
among  the  Indians,  and  no  details  of  that  feature  of  his  career  became 
known  to  his  white  friends.” 

Tecumseh,  who  is  said  to  have  been  born  on  Hacker’s  Creek,  possi¬ 
bly  at  a  village  near  the  mouth  of  Jesse’s  Pun,  visited  the  white  settle¬ 
ments  there,  after  the  peace,  and  told  the  whites  of  his  experiences 
in  connection  with  the  Waggoner  massacre. — R.  G.  T. 

1  It  must  be  acknowledged  that  many  of  these  militia  forays  against 
the  Indians  partook  of  the  nature  of  buccaneering.  The  spoils  were 
often  considerable.  Clark,  in  his  Kaskaskia  campaign  (1778),  captured 
bo  much  booty,  in  property  and  slaves,  that  he  declares  his  men  were 
made  “  almost  rich.” — R.  G.  T. 


412 


Withers's  Chronicles 


after  the  dead  were  found  in  a  ripple  and  buried.  The 
Indians  had  not  been  able  to  draw  them  from  their  watery 
grave,  and  obtain  their  scalps. 

During  this  year  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  by 
the  general  government,  to  terminate  Indian  hostilities  by 
negotiation.  They  were  too  much  elated  with  their  recent 
success,  to  think  of  burying  their  resentments  in  a  treaty 
of  peace;  and  so  little  did  they  fear  the  operation  of  the 
governmental  forces,  and  such  was  their  confidence  in 
their  own  strength,  that  they  not  only  refused  to  nego¬ 
tiate  at  all,  but  put  to  death  two  of  those  who  were  sent 
to  them  as  messengers  of  peace.  Major  Truman  and  Col. 
Hardin,  severally  sent  upon  this  mission,  were  murdered 
by  them ;  and  when  commissioners  to  treat  with  them, 
were  received  by  them,  their  only  answer  was,  a  positive 
refusal  to  enter  into  a  treaty.1 

When  this  determination  was  made  known  to  the 
President,  every  precaution  which  could  be  used,  was  taken 
by  him  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  these  enormities 
which  were  daily  committed  on  the  [305J  frontier,  and 
particularly  in  the  new  state  of  Kentucky.  Gen.  St.  Clair, 
after  having  asked  that  a  court  of  enquiry  should  be  held, 
to  consider  of  his  conduct  in  the  campaign  of  1791,  and 
finding  that  his  request  could  not  be  granted,  resigned  the 
command  of  the  army,  and  was  succeeded  by  Gen.  Anthony 
Wayne.  That  the  operations  of  the  army  might  not  be 

1  In  the  spring  of  1792,  Major  Trueman,  Colonel  Hardin,  and  Mr. 
Freeman  were  dispatched  from  Fort  Washington  by  different  routes,  to 
open  peace  negotiations,  but  they  were  murdered  by  the  savages.  Gen. 
Rufus  Putnam,  aided  by  Hekewelder,  the  Moravian,  succeeded  in  bind¬ 
ing  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  Indians  to  keep  the  peace.  Later,  Benja¬ 
min  Lincoln,  Timothy  Pickering,  and  Beverly  Randolph  were  ordered 
by  the  president  to  go  to  the  Maumee  to  conclude  a  general  treaty  wThich 
Indians  had  declared  their  willingness  to  enter  into.  But  the  commis¬ 
sioners  were  detained  at  Niagara  by  sham  conferences  with  Gov.  John 
Graves  Simcoe,  of  Canada,  until  the  middle  of  July,  when  the  Indians 
sent  them  word  that  unless  they  would  in  advance  “agree  that  the 
Ohio  shall  remain  the  boundary  between  us,”  the  proposed  “  meeting 
-would  be  altogether  unnecessary.”  The  commissioners  declined  to  ac¬ 
cept  this  ultimatum,  and  returned  home.  Meanwhile,  General  Wayne 
was  prosecuting  preparations  for  an  active  campaign  against  the  hos- 
tiles. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


418 


defeated  as  heretofore,  by  a  too  great  reliance  on  undisci¬ 
plined  militia,  it  was  recommended  to  Congress  to  author¬ 
ize  the  raising  of  three  additional  regiments  of  regular 
soldiers;  and  the  bill  for  complying  with  this  recommen¬ 
dation,  notwithstanding  it  was  strenuously  opposed  by  a 
stong  party  hostile  to  the  then  administration,  was  finally 
passed.1 

The  forts  Hamilton  and  Jefferson,  erected  by  Gen. 
St.  Clair,  continued  to  be  well  garrisoned;  but  there  was 
some  difficulty  in  supplying  them  with  provisions — the  In¬ 
dians  being  always  in  readiness  to  intercept  them  on  their 
way.  As  early  as  April  1792,  they  taught  us  the  necessity 
of  having  a  strong  guard  to  escort  supplies  with  safety, 
by  a  successful  attack  on  Major  Adair;  who  with  one 
hundred  and  twenty  volunteers  from  Kentucky,  had 
charge  of  a  number  of  pack  horses  laden  with  provisions. 
He  was  engaged  by  a  body  of  savages,  not  much  superior 
in  number,  and  although  he  was  under  cover  of  Fort  St. 
Clair,  yet  did  they  drive  him  into  the  fort,  and  carry  off 
the  provisions  and  pack  horses.  The  courage  and  bold 
daring  of  the  Indians,  was  eminently  conspicuous  on  this 
occasion.  They  fought  with  nearly  equal  numbers, 
against  a  body  of  troops,  better  tutored  in  the  science  of 
open  warfare,  well  mounted  and  equipped,  armed  with 
every  necessary  weapon,  and  almost  under  the  guns  of  the 
fort.  And  they  fought  successfully, — killing  one  captain 
and  ten  privates,  wounding  several,  and  taking  property 
estimated  to  be  worth  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  Nothing 
seemed  to  abate  their  ardor  for  war.  Neither  the  strong 
garrisons  placed  in  the  forts  erected  so  far  in  advance  of 
the  settlements,  nor  the  great  preparations  which  were 
making  for  striking  an  effectual  blow  at  them,  caused  them 

*On  a  plain  near  the  old  French-Indian-English  trading  village, 
called  Logstown  (just  below  the  present  Economy,  Pa.,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Ohio,  18  miles  below  Pittsburg),  Wayne’s  army  lay  en¬ 
camped  from  November,  1792,  to  Aprfl  30,  1793.  The  army  was  fanci¬ 
fully  called  the  “Legion  of  the  United  States,”  and  the  camp  wras  known 
as  Legion ville.  From  here,  Wayne  proceeded  to  Cincinnati,  and  took 
up  his  headquarters  in  Fort  Washington. — R.  G.  T. 


414 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


for  an  instant  to  slacken  in  hostilities,  or  check  their 
movements  against  the  frontier. 

In  the  spring  of  1793,  a  party  of  warriors  proceeding 
towards  the  head  waters  of  the  Monongahela  river,  dis¬ 
covered  a  marked  way,  leading  a  direction  which  they  did 
not  know  to  be  inhabited  by  whites.  It  led  to  a  settle¬ 
ment  which  had  been  recently  made  on  Elk  river,  by  Jere¬ 
miah  and  Benjamin  Carpenter  and  a  few  others  from  Bath 
county,  and  who  had  been  particularly  careful  to  make 
nor  leave  any  path  which  might  lead  to  a  discovery  of  their 
situation,  but  Adam  O’Brien  moving  into  the  same  section 
of  country  in  the  spring  of  1792,  and  being  rather  an  in¬ 
different  woodsman,  incautiously  blazed  the  trees  in 
several  directions  so  as  to  enable  him  readily  to  find  his 
home,  when  business  or  pleasure  should  have  drawn  him 
from  it.  It  was  upon  one  of  these  marked  traces  that  the 
Indians  chanced  to  fall ;  and  pursuing  it,  came  to  the  de¬ 
serted  cabin  of  [306]  O'Brien  :  he  having  returned  to  the 
interior,  because  of  his  not  making  a  sufficiency  of 
grain  for  the  subsistence  of  his  family.  Proceeding  from 
O’Brien’s,  they  came  to  the  House  of  Benjamin  Carpen¬ 
ter,  whom  they  found  alone  and  killed.  Mrs.  Carpenter 
being  discovered  by  them,  before  she  was  aware  of  their 
presence,  was  tomahawked  and  scalped,  a  small  distance 
from  the  yard. 

The  burning  of  Benjamin  Carpenter’s  house,  led  to  a 
discovery  of  these  outrages ;  and  the  remaining  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  that  neighborhood,  remote  from  any  fort  or  popu¬ 
lous  settlement  to  which  they  could  fly  for  security,  retired 
to  the  mountains  and  remained  for  several  days  concealed 
in  a  cave.  They  then  caught  their  horses  and  moved  their 
families  to  the  West  Fork;  and  when  they  visited  the 
places  of  their  former  habitancy  for  the  purpose  of  collect¬ 
ing  their  stock  and  carrying  it  oft'  with  their  other  prop¬ 
erty,  scarce  a  vestige  of  them  was  to  be  seen, — the  Indians 
had  been  there  after  they  left  the  cave,  and  burned  the 
houses,  pillaged  their  movable  property,  and  destroyed  the 
cattle  and  hogs. 

c* 

Among  the  few  interesting  incidents  which  occurred 
in  the  upper  country,  during  this  year,  was  the  captivity 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


415 


and  remarkable  escape  of  two  brothers,  John  and  Henry 
Johnson  : — the  former  thirteen,  the  latter  eleven  years  of 
age.  They  lived  at  a  station  on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio 
river  near  above  Indian  Short  creek;  and  being  at  some 
distance  from  the  house,  engaged  in  the  sportive  amuse¬ 
ments  of  youth,  became  fatigued  and  seated  themselves  on 
an  old  log  for  the  purpose  of  resting.  They  presently 
observed  two  men  coming  towards  them,  whom  they 
believed  to  be  white  men  from  the  station  until  they  ap¬ 
proached  so  close  as  to  leave  no  prospect  of  escape  by 
flight,  when  to  their  great  grief  they  saw  that  two  Indians 
were  beside  them.  They  were  made  prisoners,  and  taken 
about  four  miles,  when  after  partaking  of  some  roasted 
meat  and  parched  corn  given  them  by  their  captors,  they 
were  arranged  for  the  night,  by  being  placed  between  the 
two  Indians  and  each  encircled  in  the  arms  of  the  one 
next  him. 

Henry,  the  younger  of  the  brothers,  had  grieved  much 
at  the  idea  of  being  carried  off  by  the  Indians,  and  during 
his  short  but  sorrowful  journey  across  the  hills,  had  wept 
immoderately.  John  had  in  vain  endeavored  to  comfort 
him  with  the  hope  that  they  should  be  enabled  to  elude 
the  vigilence  of  the  savages,  and  to  return  to  the  hearth  of 
their  parents  and  brethren.  He  refused  to  be  comforted. — 
The  ugly  red  man,  with  his  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife, 
which  had  been  often  called  in  to  quiet  the  cries  of  his  in¬ 
fancy,  was  now  actually  before  him ;  and  every  scene  of 
torture  and  of  torment  which  had  been  depicted,  by  nar¬ 
ration,  to  his  youthful  eye,  was  now  present  to  his  terri¬ 
fied  imagination,  hightened  by  the  thought  that  they  were 
about  to  be  re-enacted  on  himself.  In  anticipation  of  this 
horrid  doom  for  some  time  he  wept  in  bitterness  and  afflic¬ 
tion  ;  but 

[307]  “  The  tear  down  childhood’s  cheek  that  flows, 

Is  like  the  dew  drop  on  the  rose  ; — 

When  next  the  summer  breeze  comes  by 
And  waves  the  bush,  the  flower  is  dry.” — 

When  the  fire  was  kindled  at  night,  the  supper  prepared 
and  ottered  to  him,  all  idea  of  his  future  fate  was  merged 


416 


Withers's  Chronicles 


in  their  present  kindness ;  and  Henry  soon  sunk  to  sleep, 
though  enclosed  in  horrid  hug,  by  savage  arms. 

It  was  different  with  John.  He  felt  the  reality  of 
their  situation. — He  was  alive  to  the  anguish  which  he 
knew  would  agitate  the  bosom  of  his  mother,  and  he 
thought  over  the  means  of  allaying  it  so  intensely,  that 
sleep  was  banished  from  his  eyes.  Finding  the  others  all 
locked  in  deep  repose,  he  disengaged  himself  from  the  em¬ 
brace  of  the  savage  at  his  side,  and  walked  to  the  tire.  To 
test  the  soundness  of  their  sleep,  he  rekindled  the  dying 
blaze,  and  moved  freely  about  it.  All  remained  still  and 
motionless, — no  suppressed  breathing,  betrayed  a  feigned 
repose.  He  gently  twitched  the  sleeping  Henry,  and 
whispering  softly  in  his  ear,  bade  him  get  up.  Henry 
obeyed,  and  they  both  stood  by  the  fire.  “  I  think,  said 
John,  we  had  better  go  home  now.”  “  Oh  !  replied  Henry, 
they  will  follow  and  catch  us  again.”  “  Never  fear  that, 
rejoined  John,  we’ll  kill  them  before  we  go.”  The  idea 
was  for  some  time  opposed  by  Henry ;  but  when  he  beheld 
the  savages  so  soundly  asleep,  and  listened  to  his  brother’s 
plan  of  executing  his  wish,  he  finally  consented  to  act  the 
part  prescribed  him. 

The  only  gun  which  the  Indians  had*  was  resting 
against  a  tree,  at  the  foot  of  which  lay  their  tomahawks. 
John  placed  it  on  a  log,  with  the  muzzle  near  to  the  head  of 
one  of  the  savages ;  cocked  it,  and  leaving  Henry  with  his 
finger  to  the  trigger,  ready  to  pull  upon  the  signal  being 
given,  he  repaired  to  his  own  station.  Holding  in  his 
hand  one  of  their  tomahawks,  he  stood  astride  of  the  other 
Indian,  and  as  he  raised  his  arm  to  deal  death  to  the  sleep¬ 
ing  savage,  Henry  fired,  and  shooting  off*  the  lower  part  of 
the  Indian’s  jaw,  called  to  his  brother,  ulayon,forTve  done 
for  this  onef  seized  up  the  gun  and  ran  oft*.  The  first  blow 
of  the  tomahawk  took  effect  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  and 
was  not  fatal.  The  Indian  attempted  to  spring  up ;  but 
John  repeated  his  strokes  with  such  force  and  so  quickly, 
that  he  soon  brought  him  again  to  the  ground;  and  leav¬ 
ing  him  dead  proceeded  on  after  his  brother. 

They  presently  came  to  a  path  which  they  recollected 
to  have  travelled,  the  preceding  evening,  and  keeping 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


417 


along  it,  arrived  at  the  station  awhile  before  day.  The  in¬ 
habitants  were  however,  all  up  and  in  much  uneasiness  for 
the  fate  of  the  boys;  and  when  they  came  near  and  heard 
a  well  known  voice  exclaim  in  accents  of  deep  distress, 
“Poor  little  fellows ,  they  are  killed  or  taken  prisoners ,”  John 
replied  aloud, — “Ko  mother,  we  are  here  again.” 

When  the  tale  of  their  captivity,  and  the  means  by 
which  their  deliverance  wras  effected,  were  told,  they  did 
not  obtain  full  credence.  [308]  Piqued  at  the  doubts  ex¬ 
pressed  by  some,  John  observed,  “  you  had  better  go  and 
see.”  “  But,  can  you  again  find  the  spot,”  said  one. 
“  Yes,  replied  he,  I  hung  my  hat  up  at  the  turning  out 
place  and  can  soon  shew  you  the  spot.”  Accompanied  by 
several  of  the  men,  John  returned  to  the  theatre  of  his  dar¬ 
ing  exploits ;  and  the  truth  of  his  statement  received  am¬ 
ple  confirmation.  The  savage  who  had  been  tomahawked 
was  lying  dead  by  the  fire — the  other  had  crawled  some 
distance  ;  but  was  tracked  by  his  blood  until  found,  when 
it  was  agreed  to  leave  him,  “  as  he  must  die  at  any  rate.” 

Companies  of  rangers  had  been  for  several  seasons 
stationed  on  the  Ohio  river,  for  the  greater  security  of  the 
persons  and  property  of  those  who  resided  on  and  near  the 
frontier.  During  this  year  a  company  which  had  been  sta- 
stationed  at  the  mouth  of  Fishing  creek,1  and  had  re¬ 
mained  there  until  its  term  of  service  had  expired,  de¬ 
termined  then  on  a  scout  into  the  Indian  country;  and 
crossing  the  river,  marched  on  for  some  days  before  they 
saw  any  thing  which  indicated  their  nearness  to  Indians. 
Pursuing  a  path  which  seemed  to  be  much  used,  they  came 
in  view  of  an  Indian  camp,  and  observing  another  path, 
which  likewise  seemed  to  be  much  frequented,  Ensign 
Levi  Morgan  was  sent  with  a  detachment  of  the  men,  to 
see  if  it  would  conduct  them  to  where  were  others  of  the 
Indians,  who  soon  returned  with  the  information  that  he 
had  seen  another  of  their  encampments  close  by.  Upon 
the  receipt  of  this  intelligence,  the  Lieutenant  was  sent 

Wishing  Creek  enters  the  Ohio  128  miles  below  Pittsburgh.  At  ita 
mouth  is  now  the  town  of  New  Martinsville,  W.  Va. — R.  G.  T. 

27 


418 


Withers's  Chronicles 


forward  with  a  party  of  men  to  attack  the  second  encamp¬ 
ment,  while  the  Captain  with  the  residue  of  the  company 
should  proceed  against  that  which  had  been  first  discov¬ 
ered,  and  commence  an  assault  on  it,  when  he  should  hear 
the  firing  of  the  Lieutenant’s  party  at  the  camp  which  he 
was  sent  to  assail. 

When  the  second  camp  was  approached  and  the  men 
posted  at  intervals  around  it,  awaiting  the  light  of  day  to 
begin  the  assault,  the  Lieutenant  discovered  that  there  was 
a  greater  force  of  Indians  with  whom  he  would  have  to 
contend  than  was  expected,  and  prudently  resolved  to 
withdraw  his  men  without  coming  into  collision  with 
them.  Orders  for  this  movement  were  directly  given,  and 
the  party  immediately  retired.  There  was  however,  one 
of  the  detachment,  who  had  been  posted  some  small  dis¬ 
tance  in  advance  of  the  others  with  directions  to  fire  as 
soon  as  the  Indians  should  be  seen  stirring,  and  who,  un¬ 
apprized  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  others,  [309]  maintained 
his  station,  until  he  observed  a  squaw  issuing  from  a  camp, 
when  he  fired  at  her  and  rushed  up,  expecting  to  he  sup¬ 
ported  by  his  comrades.  He  fell  into  the  hands  of  those 
whom  he  had  thus  assailed;  but  his  fate  was  far  different 
from  what  he  had  every  reason  to  suppose  it  would  be, 
under  those  circumstances.  It  was  the  hunting  camp  of 
Isaac  Zane,  and  the  female  at  whom  he  had  shot  was  the 
daughter  of  Zane ;  the  ball  had  slightly  wounded  her  in 
the  wrist.  Her  father,  although  he  had  been  with  the  In¬ 
dians  ever  since  his  captivity  when  only  nine  years  of  age, 
had  not  yet  acquired  the  ferocious  and  vindictive  passions 
of  those  with  whom  he  had  associated;  but  practising  the 
forbearance  and  forgiveness  of  Christian  and  civilized  man, 
generously  conducted  the  wanton  assailant  so  far  upon  his 
way,  that  he  was  enabled  though  alone  to  reach  the  settle¬ 
ment  in  safety.  His  fate  was  different  from  that  of  those, 
who  had  been  taken  prisoners  by  that  part  of  the  com¬ 
pany  which  remained  at  the  first  camp  with  the  Captain. 
When  the  Lieuteuant  with  the  detachment,  rejoined  the 
others,  disappointment  at  the  failure  of  the  expedition 
under  him,  led  some  of  the  men  to  fall  upon  the  Indian 
prisoners  and  inhumanly  murder  them. 


419 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

Notwithstanding  that  preparations  for  an  active  cam¬ 
paign  against  the  savages  was  fast  ripening  to  their  per¬ 
fection,  and  that  the  troops  of  the  general  government 
had  penetrated  as  far  as  to  the  field,  on  which  had  been 
fought  the  fatal  battle  of  the  fourth  of  November,  1791, 
and  erected  there  Fort  Recovery,1  yet  did  they  not  cease 
from  their  accustomed  inroads  upon  the  settlements,  even 
after  the  winter  of  1793. — In  March  1794,  a  party  of  them 
crossed  the  Ohio  river,  and  as  they  were  advancing  towards 
the  settlements  on  the  upper  branches  of  the  Monongahela, 
met  wfith  Joseph  Cox,  then  on  his  way  to  the  mouth  of 
Leading  creek  on  Little  Kenhawa,  for  a  load  of  furs  and 
skins  which  he  had  left  there,  at  the  close  of  his  hunt  the 
preceding  fall.  Cox  very  unexpectedly  met  them  in  a 
narrow  pass,  and  instantly  wheeled  his  horse  to  ride  off. 
Endeavoring  to  stimulate  the  horse  to  greater  speed  by 
the  application  of  the  whip,  the  animal  became  stubborn 
and  refused  to  go  at  all,  when  Cox  was  forced  to  dismount 
and  seek  safety  on  foot.  His  pursuers  gained  rapidly  upon 
him,  and  he  saw  that  one  of  them  would  soon  overtake 
him.  He  faced  the  savage  who  was  near,  and  raised  his 
gun  to  fire ;  but  nothing  daunted,  the  Indian  rushed  for¬ 
ward.  Cox’s  gun  [310]  missed  fire,  and  he  was  instantly  a 
prisoner.  He  was  taken  to  their  towns  and  detained  in 
captivity  for  some  time ;  but  at  length  made  his  escape, 
and  returned  safely  to  the  settlement. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  six  Indians  visited  the  West 
Fork  river,  and  at  the  mouth  of  Freeman’s  creek,  met 
with,  and  made  prisoner,  a  daughter  of  John  Runyan. 
She  was  taken  off  by  two  of  the  party  of  savages,  but  did 
not  go  more  than  ten  or  twelve  miles,  before  she  was  put 
to  death.  The  four  Indians  who  remained,  proceeded 
down  the  river  and  on  the  next  day  came  to  the  house  of 
William  Carder,  near  below  the  mouth  of  Hacker’s  creek. 
Mr.  Carder  discovered  them  approaching,  in  time  to  fasten 
his  door ;  but  in  the  confusion  of  the  minute,  shut  out  twTo 

1  This  was  an  expedition  made  by  Gen.  James  Wilkinson,  second  in 
command  under  Wayne,  in  December,  1793.  He  marched  to  the  field 
from  Fort  Washington  at  the  head  of  a  thousand  men,  and  left  a  garri¬ 
son  at  the  new  fort. — R.  G.  T. 


420 


Withers's  Chronicles 


of  his  children,  who  however  ran  off  unperceived  by  the 
savages  and  arrived  in  safety  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor. 
He  then  commenced  firing  and  hallooing,  so  as  to  alarm 
those  who  were  near  and  intimidate  the  Indians.  Both 
objects  were  accomplished.  The  Indians  contented  them¬ 
selves  with  shooting  at  the  cattle,  and  then  retreated;  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Chevront,  who  lived  hardby,  hearing  the  re¬ 
port  of  the  guns  and  the  loud  cries  of  Carder,  sent  his  own 
family  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  with  nobleness  of  purpose, 
ran  to  the  relief  of  his  neighbor.  He  enabled  Carder  to  re¬ 
move  his  family  to  a  place  of  greater  security,  although 
the  enemy  were  }^et  near,  and  engaged  in  skinning  one  of 
the  cattle  that  they  might  take  with  them  a  supply  of 
meat.  On  the  next  day  a  company  of  men  assembled,  and 
went  in  pursuit;  but  they  could  not  trail  the  savages  far,, 
because  of  the  great  caution  with  which  they  had  re¬ 
treated,  and  returned  without  accomplishing  any  thing. 

Two  days  afterward,  when  it  was  believed  that  the  In¬ 
dians  had  left  the  neighborhood,  they  came  on  Hacker’s 
creek  near  to  the  farm  of  Jacob  Cozad,  and  finding  four 
of  his  sons  bathing,  took  three  of  them  prisoners,  and 
killed  the  fourth,  by  repeatedly  stabbing  him  with  a  bay¬ 
onet  attached  to  a  staff.  The  boys,  of  whom  they  made 
prisoners,  were  immediately  taken  to  the  Indian  towns  and 
kept  in  captivity  until  the  treaty  of  Greenville  in  1795. 
Two  of  them  were  then  delivered  up  to  their  father,  who 
attended  to  enquire  for  them, — the  third  was  not  heard  of 
for  some  time  after,  but  was  at  length  found  at  Sandusky, 
by  his  elder  brother  and  brought  home. 

After  the  victory  obtained  by  General  Wayne  over 
the  Indians,  [311]  Jacob  Cozad,  Jr.  was  doomed  to  be 
burned  to  death,  in  revenge  of  the  loss  then  sustained  by 
the  savages.  Every  preparation  for  carrying  into  execu¬ 
tion  this  dreadful  determination  was  quickly  made.  The 
wood  was  piled,  the  intended  victim  was  apprized  of  his 
approaching  fate,  and  before  the  flaming  torch  was  applied 
to  the  faggots,  he  was  told  to  take  leave  of  those  who  were 
assembled  to  witness  the  awful  spectacle.  The  croud  was 
great,  and  the  unhappy  youth  could  with  difficulty  press 
his  way  through  them.  Amid  the  jeers  and  taunts  of  those 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


421 


whom  he  would  address,  he  was  proceeding  to  discharge 
the  last  sad  act  of  his  life,  when  a  female,  whose  counte¬ 
nance  beamed  with  benignity,  beckoned  him  to  follow  her. 
lie  did  not  hesitate.  lie  approached  as  if  to  bid  her  fare¬ 
well,  and  she  succeeded  in  taking  him  off  unobserved  by 
the  many  eyes  gazing  around,  and  concealed  him  in  a  wig¬ 
wam  among  some  trunks  and  covered  loosely  with  a 
blanket.  lie  was  presently  missed,  and  a  search  immedi¬ 
ately  made  for  him.  Many  passed  near  in  quest  of  the 
devoted  victim,  and  he  could  hear  their  steps  and  note 
their  disappointment.  After  awhile  the  uproar  ceased, 
and  he  felt  more  confident  of  security.  In  a  few  minutes 
more  he  heard  approaching  footsteps  and  felt  that  the 
blanket  was  removed  from  him.  He  turned  to  surrender 
himself  to  his  pursuers,  and  meet  a  dreadful  death. — But 
no!  they  were  two  of  his  master’s  sons  who  had  been  di¬ 
rected  where  to  find  him,  and  they  conducted  him  securely 
to  the  Old  Delaware  town,  where  he  remained  until  car¬ 
ried  to  camp  upon  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace.1 

In  a  short  time  after  the  happening  of  the  events  at 
Cozad’s,  a  party  of  Indians  made  an  irruption  upon  Ty- 
gart’s  Valley.  For  some  time  the  inhabitants  of  that  set¬ 
tlement  had  enjoyed  a  most  fortunate  exemption  from 
savage  molestation ;  and  although  they  had  somewhat  re¬ 
laxed  in  vigilance,  they  did  not  however  omit  to  pursue  a 
course  calculated  to  ensure  a  continuance  of  their  tran¬ 
quillity  and  repose.  Instead  of  flying  for  security,  as  they 
had  formerly,  to  the  neighboring  forts  upon  the  return  of 
spring,  the  increase  of  population  and  the  increased  ca¬ 
pacity  of  the  communion  to  repel  aggression,  caused  them 
to  neglect  other  acts  of  precaution,  and  only  to  assemble 

1  McWhorter  says  that  the  capture  of  the  Cozad  boys  took  place  at 
the  mouth  of  Lanson  Run,  near  Berlin,  W.  Va.  The  boy  who  was 
killed  was  but  six  years  of  age ;  crying  for  his  mother,  an  Indian 
grasped  him  by  the  heels  and  cracked  his  head  against  a  tree,— a  favorite 
method  of  murdering  white  children,  among  Indian  war  parties.  “Ja¬ 
cob  yelled  once,  after  starting  with  the  Indians,  but  was  knocked  down 
bv  a  gun  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  savages.  When  he  came  to  his  senses, 
a  squaw  was  dragging  him  up  hill  by  one  foot.  He  remained  with  the 
Indians  for  about  two  years,  being  adopted  into  a  chief’s  family.  He 
died  in  1862,  in  his  eighty-ninth  year.” — R.  G.  T. 


422 


Withers’s  Chronicles 


at  particular  houses,  when  danger  was  believed  to  be  in¬ 
stant  and  at  hand.  In  consequence  of  the  reports  which 
reached  them  of  the  injuries  lately  committed  by  the 
[312]  savages  upon  the  West  Fork,  several  families  col¬ 
lected  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Joseph  Canaan  for  mutual  se¬ 
curity,  and  while  thus  assembled,  were  visited  by  a  party 
of  Indians,  when  perfectly  unprepared  for  resistance.  The 
savages  entered  the  house  awhile  after  dark,  and  approach¬ 
ing  the  bed  on  wrhich  Mr.  Canaan  was  lolling,  one  of  them 
addressed  him  with  the  familiarity  of  an  old  acquaintance 
and  saying  “  how  d’ye  do,  how  d’ye  do,”  presented  his 
hand.  Mr.  Canaan  was  rising  to  reciprocate  the  greeting, 
when  he  was  pierced  by  a  ball  discharged  at  him  from 
another  savage,  and  fell  dead.  The  report  of  the  gun  at 
once  told,  who  were  the  visitors,  and  put  them  upon  using 
immediate  exertions  to  effect  their  safety  by  flight.  A 
young  man  who  was  near  when  Canaan  was  shot,  aimed 
at  the  murderer  a  blow  with  a  drawing  knife,  which  took 
effect  on  the  head  of  the  savage  and  brought  him  to  the 
ground.  Ralston  then  escaped  through  the  door,  and  fled 
in  safety,  although  fired  at  as  he  fled. 

When  the  Indians  entered  the  house,  there  was  a  Mrs. 
Ward  sitting  in  the  room.  So  soon  as  she  observed  that 
the  intruders  were  savages,  she  passed  into  another  apart¬ 
ment  with  two  of  the  children,  and  going  out  with  them 
through  a  window,  got  safely  away.  Mr.  Lewis  (brother 
to  Mrs.  Canaan)  likewise  escaped  from  a  back  room,  in 
which  he  had  been  asleep  at  the  firing  of  the  gun.  Three 
children  were  tomahawked  and  scalped, — Mrs.  Canaan 
made  prisoner,  and  the  savages  withdrew.  The  severe 
wound  inflicted  on  the  head  of  the  Indian  by  Ralston, 
made  it  necessary  that  they  should  delay  their  return  to 
their  towns,  until  his  recovery;  and  they  accordingly  re¬ 
mained  near  the  head  of  the  middle  fork  of  Buehannon, 
for  several  weeks.  Their  extreme  caution  in  travelling, 
rendered  any  attempt  to  discover  them  unavailing  ;  and 
when  their  companion  was  restored  they  proceeded  on, 
uninterruptedly.  On  the  close  of  the  war,  Mrs.  Canaan 
wTas  redeemed  from  captivity  by  a  brother  from  Bruns¬ 
wick,  in  New  Jersey,  and  restored  to  her  surviving  friends. 


423 


Of  Border  Warfare. 

Thus  far  in  the  year  1794,  the  army  of  the  United 
States  had  not  been  organised  for  efficient  operations.  Gen. 
Wayne  had  been  actively  employed  in  the  discharge  of 
every  preparatory  duty  devolving  on  him;  and  those 
distinguishing  characteristics  of  uncommon  daring  and 
bravery,  which  had  acquired  for  him  the  appellation  of 
“ Mad  Anthony ,”  and  which  [313]  so  eminently  fitted  him 
for  the  command  of  an  army  warring  against  savages, 
gave  promise  of  success  to  his  arms. 

Before  the  troops  marched  from  Fort  Washington,  it 
was  deemed  advisable  to  have  an  abundant  supply  of  pro* 
visions  in  the  different  forts  in  advance  of  this,  as  well  for 
the  supply  of  their  respective  garrisons,  as  for  the  sub¬ 
sistence  of  the  general  army,  in  the  event  of  its  being- 
driven  into  them,  by  untoward  circumstances.  With  this 
view,  three  hundred  pack-horses,  laden  with  flour,  were 
sent  on  to  Fort  Recovery;  and,  as  it  was  known  that  con¬ 
siderable  bodies  of  the  enemy  were  constantly  hovering 
about  the  forts,  and  awaiting  opportunities  of  cutting  off 
any  detachments  from  the  main  army,  Major  McMahon, 
with  eighty  riflemen  under  Capt.  Hartshorn,  and  fifty 
dragoons,  under  Capt.  Taylor,  was  ordered  on  as  an  es¬ 
cort.  This  force  was  too  great  to  justify  the  savages  in 
making  an  attack,  until  they  could  unite  the  many  war 
parties  which  were  near ;  and  before  this  could  be  effected, 
Major  McMahon  reached  his  destination. 

On  the  30th  of  July,1  as  the  escort  was  about  leaving 
Fort  Recovery,  it  was  attacked  by  an  army  of  one  thou¬ 
sand  Indians,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  fort.  Cap¬ 
tain  Hartshorn  had  advanced  only  three  or  four  hundred 
yards,  at  the  head  of  the  riflemen,  when  he  was  unex¬ 
pectedly  beset  on  every  side.  With  the  most  consummate 
bravery  and  good  conduct,  he  maintained  the  unequal  con¬ 
flict,  until  Major  McMahon,  placing  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  cavalry,  charged  upon  the  enemy,  and  was  repulsed 
with  considerable  loss.  Maj.  McMahon,  Capt.  Taylor  and 
Cornet  Terry  fell  upon  the  first  onset,  and  many  of  the 
privates  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  whole  savage  force 


1  Thirtieth  of  June. — R.  G.  T. 


424 


Withers's  Chronicles 


being  now  brought  to  press  on  Capt.  Hartshorn,  that  brave 
officer  was  forced  to  try  and  regain  the  Fort,  but  the 
enemy  interposed  its  strength,  to  prevent  this  movement. 
Lieutenant  Drake  and  Ensign  Dodd,  with  twenty  volun¬ 
teers,  marched  from  Fort  Recovery  and  forcing  a  passage 
through  a  column  of  the  enemy  at  the  point  of  the  bay¬ 
onet,  joined  the  rifle  corps,  at  the  instant  that  Capt.  Harts¬ 
horn  received  a  shot  which  broke  his  thigh.  Lieut.  Craig 
being  killed  and  Lieut.  Marks  taken  prisoner,  Lieut.  Drake 
conducted  the  retreat ;  and  while  endeavoring  for  an  in¬ 
stant  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check,  so  as  to  enable  the  sol¬ 
diers  to  bring  oft*  their  wounded  captain,  himself  received 
a  shot  in  the  groin,  and  the  retreat  was  resumed,  leaving 
Capt.  Hartshorn  on  the  field. 

[314]  When  the  remnant  of  the  troops  came  within  the 
walls  of  the  Fort,  Lieut.  Michael,  who  had  been  early  de¬ 
tached  by  Capt.  Hartshorn  to  the  flank  of  the  enemy,  was 
found  to  be  missing,  and  was  given  up  as  lost.  But  while 
his  friends  were  deploring  his  unfortunate  fate,  he  and 
Lieut.  Marks,  who  had  been  early  taken  prisoner,  were 
seen  rushing  through  the  enemy,  from  opposite  directions 
towards  the  Fort.  They  gained  it  safely,  notwithstanding 
they  were  actively  pursued,  and  many  shots  tired  at  them. 
Lieut.  Marks  had  got  off  by  knocking  down  the  Indian 
who  held  him  prisoner;  and  Lieut.  Michael  had  lost  all 
of  his  party,  but  three  men.  The  entire  loss  of  the  Amer¬ 
icans  was  twenty-three  killed,  and  forty  wounded.1  The 
riflemen  brought  in  ten  scalps  which  were  taken  early  in 
the  action ;  beyond  this  the  enemy’s  loss  was  never  ascer¬ 
tained.  Many  of  them  were  no  doubt  killed  and  wounded, 
as  they  advanced  in  solid  columns  up  to  the  very  muzzles 
of  the  guns,  and  were  afterwards  seen  carrying  off  many 
of  their  warriors  on  pack  horses. 

At  length  Gen.  Wayne  put  the  army  over  which  he  had 
been  given  the  command,  in  motion  ;2  and  upon  its  arrival 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Au  Glaize  and  the  Miami  of  the 

1  The  white  loss,  in  killed,  was  22,  including  Major  McMahon. — 
R.  G.  T. 

2  The  force  started  August  8.  Besides  the  regulars,  were  about  1,100 
mounted  Kentucky  militia,  under  Gen.  Charles  Scott. — R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


425 


Lakes,  another  effort  was  made  for  the  attainment  of 
peace,  without  the  effusion  of  blood.  Commissioners  were 
sent  forward  to  the  Indians  to  effect  this  desirable  object; 
who  exhorted  them  to  listen  to  their  propositions  for  ter¬ 
minating  the  war,  and  no  longer  to  be  deluded  by  the 
counsels  of  white  emissaries,  who  had  not  the  power  to  af¬ 
ford  them  protection ;  but  only  sought  to  involve  the 
frontier  of  the  United  States  in  a  war,  from  which  much 
evil,  but  no  good  could  possibly  result  to  either  party. 
The  savages  however  felt  confident  that  success  would 
again  attend  their  arms,  and  deriving  additional  incentives 
to  war  from  their  proximity  to  the  British  fort,  recently 
erected  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  declined  the  overture  for 
peace,  and  seemed  ardently  to  desire  the  battle,  which 
they  knew  must  soon  be  fought. 

The  Indian  army  at  this  time,  amounted  to  about  two 
thousand  warriors,  and  when  reconnoitered  on  the  19th  of 
August  were  found  encamped  in  a  thick  bushy  wood  and 
near  to  the  British  Fort.  The  army  of  Gen.  Wayne  was 
equal  in  numbers  to  that  of  the  enemy;  and  when  on  the 
morning  of  the  20th,  it  took  up  the  line  of  march,  the 
troops  were  so  disposed  as  to  avoid  being  surprised,  and  to 
■come  into  action  on  the  [315]  shortest  notice,  and  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances.  A  select  battalion  of 
mounted  volunteers,  commanded  by  Major  Price,  moving 
in  advance  of  the  main  army,  had  proceeded  but  a  few 
miles,  when  a  fire  so  severe  was  aimed  at  it  by  the  savages 
concealed,  as  usual,  that  it  was  forced  to  fall  back.  The 
enemy  had  chosen  their  ground  with  great  judgment,  tak¬ 
ing  a  position  behind  the  fallen  timber,1  which  had  been 
prostrated  by  a  tornado,  and  in  a  woods  so  thick  as  to 
render  it  impracticable  for  the  cavalry  to  act  with  effect. 
They  were  formed  into  three  regular  lines,  much  extended 
in  front,  within  supporting  distance  of  each  other,  and 
reaching  about  two  miles  ;  and  their  first  effort  was  to  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  American  army. 

Gen.  Wayne  ordered  the  first  line  of  his  army  to  ad¬ 
vance  with  trailed  arms,  to  rouse  the  enemy  from  their 

1  Hence  the  popular  name  of  the  engagement,  “  Battle  of  Fallen 
Timbers.” — R.  G.  T. 


426 


Withers's  Chronicles 


covert  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  when  up  to  deliver 
a  close  and  well  directed  fire,  to  be  followed  by  a  charge 
so  brisk  as  not  to  allow  them  time  to  reload  or  form  their 
lines.  The  second  line  was  ordered  to  the  support  of  the 
first;  and  Capt.  Campbell  at  the  head  of  the  cavalry,  and 
Gen.  Scott  at  the  head  of  the  mounted  volunteers  were 
sent  forward  to  turn  the  left  and  right  wings  of  the  enemy. 
All  these  complicated  orders  were  promptly  executed;  but 
such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge  made  by  the  first 
line  of  infantry,  so  completely  and  entirely  was  the  enemy 
broken  by  it,  and  so  rapid  the  pursuit,  that  only  a  small 
part  of  the  second  line  and  of  the  mounted  volunteers 
were  in  time  to  participate  in  the  action,  notwithstanding 
the  great  exertions  of  their  respective  officers  to  co-operate 
in  the  engagement ;  and  in  less  than  one  hour,  the  savages 
were  driven  more  than  two  miles  and  within  gunshot  of 
the  British  Fort,  by  less  than  one  half  their  numbers. 

Gen.  Wayne  remained  three  days  on  the  banks  of  the 
Miami,  in  front  of  the  field  of  battle  left  to  the  full  and 
quiet  possession  of  his  army,  by  the  flight  and  dispersion 
of  the  savages.  In  this  time,  all  the  houses  and  cornfields, 
both  above  and  below  the  British  Fort,  and  among  the 
rest,  the  houses  and  stores  of  Col.  McKee,1  an  English 
trader  of  great  influence  among  the  Indians  and  which 
had  been  invariably  exerted  to  prolong  the  Avar,  were  con¬ 
sumed  by  fire  or  otherwise  entirely  destroyed.  On  the 
27th,  the  American  army  returned  to  its  head  quarters, 
laying  waste  the  cornfields  and  villages  on  each  side  of  the 
river  for  about  fifty  miles;  and  [316]  this  too  in  the  most 
populous  and  best  improved  part  of  the  Indian  country. 

The  loss  sustained  by  the  American  army,  in  obtain¬ 
ing  this  brilliant  victory,  o\Ter  a  savage  enemy  flushed  Avith 
former  successes,  amounted  to  thirtv-three  killed  and  one 
hundred  Avounded:2  that  of  the  enemy  was  never  ascer¬ 
tained.  In  his  official  account  of  the  action,  Gen.  Wayne 
says,  “  The  Avoods  Avere  strewed  for  a  considerable  distance, 

1  Alexander  McKee,  the  renegade,  of  whom  mention  has  frequently 
been  made  in  foregoing  pages. — R.  G.  T. 

2  Later  authorities  place  the  white  loss  at  107,  killed  and  wounded. — 
R.  G.  T. 


Of  Border  Warfare . 


427 


with  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Indians  and  their  white  aux¬ 
iliaries;”  and  at  a  council  held  a  few  days  after,  when 
British  agents  endeavored  to  prevail  on  them  to  risk 
another  engagement,  they  expressed  a  determination  to 
“  bury  the  bloody  hatchet”  saying,  that  they  had  just  lost 
more  than  two  hundred  of  their  warriors. 

Some  events  occurred  during  this  engagement,  which 
are  deemed  worthy  of  being  recorded  here,  although  not 
of  general  interest.  While  Capt.  Campbell  was  engaged 
in  turning  the  left-flank,  of  the  enemy,  three  of  them 
plunged  into  the  river,  and  endeavored  to  escape  the  fury 
of  the  conflict,  by  swimming  to  the  opposite  shore.  They 
were  seen  by  two  negroes,  who  were  on  the  bank  to  which 
the  Indians  were  aiming,  and  who  concealed  themselves 
behind  a  log  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  them.  When 
within  shooting  distance  one  of  the  negroes  fired  and 
killed  one  of  the  Indians.  The  other  two  took  hold  of 
him  to  drag  him  to  shore,  when  one  of  them  was  killed, 
by  the  fire  of  the  other  negro.  The  remaining  Indian,  be¬ 
ing  now  in  shoal  water,  endeavored  to  draw  both  the  dead 
to  the  bank  ;  but  before  he  could  effect  this,  the  negro  who 
had  first  fired,  had  reloaded,  and  again  discharging  his  gun, 
killed  him  also,  and  the  three  floated  down  the  river. 

Another  circumstance  is  related,  which  shows  the  ob¬ 
stinacy  with  which  the  contest  was  maintained  by  individ¬ 
uals  in  both  armies.  A  soldier  and  an  Indian  came  in 
collision,  the  one  having  an  unloaded  gun, — the  other  a 
tomahawk.  After  the  action  was  over,  they  were  both 
found  dead ;  the  soldier  with  his  bayonet  in  the  body  of 
the  Indian, — and  the  Indian  with  his  tomahawk  in  the 
head  of  the  soldier. 

Notwithstanding  the  signal  victory,  obtained  by  Gen¬ 
eral  Wayne  over  the  Indians,  yet  did  their  hostility  to  the 
whites  lead  them  to  acts  of  occasional  violence,  and  kept 
them  for  some  time  from  acceding  to  the  proposals  for 
peace.  In  [317]  consequence  of  this,  their  whole  country 
was  laid  waste,  and  forts  erected  in  the  hearts  of  their  set¬ 
tlements  at  once  to  starve  and  awe  them  into  quiet.  The 
desired  effect  was  produced.  Their  crops  being  laid  waste, 
their  villages  burned,  fortresses  erected  in  various  parts  of 


428 


Withers's  Chronicles 


their  country  and  kept  well  garrisoned,  and  a  victorious 
army  ready  to  bear  down  upon  them  at  any  instant,  there 
was  no  alternative  left  them  but  to  sue  for  peace.  When 
the  Shawanees  made  known  their  wish  to  bury  the  bloody 
hatchet ,  Gen.  Wayne  refused  to  treat  singly  with  them,  and 
declared  that  all  the  different  tribes  of  the  North  Western 
Indians  should  be  parties  to  any  treaty  which  he  should 
make.  This  required  some  time  as  they  had  been  much 
dispersed  after  the  defeat  of  the  20th  of  August,  and  the 
great  devastation  committed  on  their  crops  and  provisions 
by  the  American  army,  had  driven  many  to  the  woods,  to 
procure  a  precarious  subsistence  by  hunting.  Still  how¬ 
ever,  to  such  abject  want  and  wretchedness  were  they 
reduced,  that  exertions  were  immediately  made  to  collect 
them  in  general  council ;  and  as  this  was  the  work  of  some 
time,  it  was  not  effected  until  midsummer  of  1795. 

In  this  interval  of  time,  there  was  but  a  solitary  inter¬ 
ruption,  caused  by  savage  aggression,  to  the  general  re¬ 
pose  and  quiet  of  North  Western  Virginia;  and  that 
interruption  occurred  in  a  settlement  which  had  been 
exempt  from  invasion  since  the  year  1782.  In  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1795,  the  trail  of  a  large  party  of  Indians  wras 
discovered  on  Leading  creek,  and  proceeding  directly  to¬ 
wards  the  settlements  on  the  head  of  the  West  Fork, 
those  on  Buchan  non  river,  or  in  Tygart’s  Valley.  In 
consequence  of  the  uncertainty  against  which  of  them, 
the  savages  would  direct  their  operations,  intelligence  of 
the  discovery  which  had  been  made,  was  sent  by  express 
to  all;  and  measures,  to  guard  against  the  happening  of 
any  unpleasant  result,  were  taken  by  all,  save  the  inhab¬ 
itants  on  Buchannon.  They  had  so  long  been  exempt 
from  the  murderous  incursions  of  the  savages,  while  other 
settlements  not  remote  from  them,  were  yearly  deluged 
with  blood,  that  a  false  security  was  engendered,  in  the 
issue,  fatal  to  the  lives  and  happiness  of  some  of  them,  by 
causing  them  to  neglect  the  use  of  such  precautionary 
means,  as  would  warn  them  of  the  near  approach  of  dan¬ 
ger,  and  ward  it  when  it  came. 

Pursuing  their  usual  avocations  in  despite  of  the 
warning  which  had  been  given  them,  on  the  day  after  the 


Of  Border  Warfare. 


429 


express  had  [318]  sounded  an  alarm  among  them,  as  John 
Bozarth,  sen.  and  his  sons  George  and  John  were  busied 
in  drawing  grain  from  the  held  to  the  barn,  the  agonizing 
shrieks  of  those  at  the  house  rent  the  air  around  them ; 
and  they  hastened  to  ascertain,  and  if  practicable  avert 
the  cause.  The  elasticity  of  youth  enabled  George  to  ap¬ 
proach  the  house  some  few  paces  in  advance  of  his  father, 
but  the  practised  eye  of  the  old  gentleman,  first  discovered 
an  Indian,  only  a  small  distance  from  his  son,  and  with 
his  gun  raised  to  fire  upon  him.  With  parental  solicitude 
he  exclaimed,  “  See  George,  an  Indian  is  going  to  shoot 
you.”  George  was  then  too  near  the  savage,  to  think  of 
escaping  by  flight.  He  looked  at  him  steadily,  and  when 
he  supposed  the  fatal  aim  was  taken  and  the  finger  just 
pressing  on  the  trigger,  he  fell,  and  the  ball  whistled  by 
him.  Hot  doubting  but  that  the  youth  had  fallen  in  death,, 
the  savage  passed  by  him  and  pressed  in  pursuit  of  the 
father. 

Mr.  Bozarth  had  not  attained  to  that  age  when  the 
sinews  become  too  much  relaxed  for  active  exertion,  but 
was  yet  springy  and  agile,  and  was  enabled  to  keep  ahead 
of  his  pursuer.  Despairing  of  overtaking  him,  by  reason 
of  his  great  speed,  the  savage  hurled  a  tomahawk  at  his 
head.  It  passed  harmless  by  ;  and  the  old  gentleman  got 
safely  off. 

When  George  Bozarth  fell  as  the  Indian  fired,  he  lay 
still  as  if  dead,  and  supposing  the  scalping  knife  would  be 
next  applied  to  his  head,  determined  on  seizing  the  savage 
by  the  legs  as  he  would  stoop  over  him,  and  endeavor  to 
bring  him  to  the  ground ;  when  he  hoped  to  be  able  to 
gain  the  mastery  over  him.  Seeing  him  pass  on  in  pur¬ 
suit  of  his  father,  he  arose  and  took  to  flight  also.  On 
his  way  he  overtook  a  younger  brother,  who  had  become 
alarmed,  and  was  hobbling  slowly  away  on  a  sore  foot. 
George  gave  him  every  aid  in  his  power  to  facilitate  his 
flight,  until  he  discovered  that  another  of  the  savages  was 
pressing  close  upon  them.  Knowing  that  if  he  remained 
with  his  brother,  both  must  inevitably  perish,  he  was  re¬ 
luctantly  forced  to  leave  him  to  his  fate.  Proceeding  on, 
he  came  up  with  his  father,  who  not  doubting  but  he  was 


430 


Withers's  Chronicles 


killed  when  the  savage  fired  at  him,  broke  forth  with  the 
exclamation.  “  Why  George ,  1  thought  you  icere  dead  ”  and 
manifested,  even  in  that  sorrowful  moment,  a  joyful  feel¬ 
ing  at  his  mistake. 

The  Indians  who  were  at  the  house,  wrought  their 
work  of  blood  upon  such  as  would  have  been  impediments 
to  their  [319]  retreat;  and  killing  two  or  three  smaller 
children,  took  Mrs.  Bozarth  and  two  boys  prisoners. 
With  these  they  made  their  way  to  their  towns  and  ar¬ 
rived  in  time  to  surrender  their  captives  to  Gen.  Wayne. 

This  was  the  last  mischief  done  by  the  Indians  in 
Horth  Western  Virginia.  For  twenty  years  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  that  section  of  the  country,  had  suffered  all  the 
horrors  of  savage  warfare,  and  all  the  woes  which  spring 
from  the  uncurbed  indulgence  of  those  barbarous  and  vin¬ 
dictive  passions,  which  bear  sway  in  savage  breasts.  The 
treaty  of  Greenville,  concluded  on  the  3d  of  August  1795, 
put  a  period  to  the  war,  and  with  it,  to  those  acts  of  dev¬ 
astation  and  death  which  had  so  long  spread  dismay  and 
gloom  throughout  the  land. 


FINIS. 


INDEX 


Acosta,  Father  Joseph,  on  origin  of  In¬ 
dians,  14. 

Adair,  James,  History  of  American  In¬ 
dians,  17-23. 

Adair,  Maj.,  attacked  by  Indians,  413. 

Albermarle  county,  Va.,  54. 

Alexander,  Archibald,  early  settler,  52; 
in  Sandy-creek  voyage,  81. 

Alexander,  John,  in  Sandy-creek  voy¬ 
age,  81. 

Alexandria,  O.,  old  Shawneetown  at, 
82,  92. 

Alexandria,  Va.,  60,  181. 

Alleghany  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  55. 

Alleghany  mountains,  early  Indians  in, 
44,  45,  47;  crossed  by  English.  63-66. 

Alleghany  river,  early  Indians  on,  45,  46, 
73;  discovered  by  Le  Moyne,  64;  French 
on,  65;  Grant’s  defeat,  71;  in  Dun- 
more’s  war,  150;  in  Revolution,  301, 
309. 

Allen, - ,  killed  at  Point  Pleasant,  171. 

Almon,  J.,  Remembrancer,  355. 

Amherst  county,  Va.,  militia  of,  99. 

Amherst,  Jeffrey,  orders  Bouquet’s  ex¬ 
pedition,  107. 

Anderson,  James,  early  settler,  126. 

Appalachas,  Indian  village,  attacked  by 
Narvaez,  7. 

Arbuckle,  Matthew,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 

165,  170,  175;  at  murder  of  Cornstalk, 
211,  212,  216;  commandant  of  Ft.  Ran¬ 
dolph,  209,  241. 

Archaeology.  See  Mound-builders. 

Archer,  Betsy,  daughter  of  Sampson,  52. 

Archer,  Sampson,  early  settler,  52,  89. 

Arkansas  river,  Sailing  at,  48. 

Armstrong,  Capt.,  on  Harmar's  cam¬ 
paign,  394. 

Ashcraft,  Uriah,  attacked  by  Indians, 
397. 

Ashlv,  Lieut.,  killed  by  Indians,  332. 

Athol,  Thomas,  93. 

Au  Glaize  river,  treaty  of, 376;  Wayne  on, 
424,  425. 

Augusta  county,  Va.,  formed,  55,  57,  61, 
151;  early  settlers  in,  53;  census  (1830), 
55,  56;  militia  of,  49,  52,  66.  68,  81,  90,  164, 

166,  170,  209,  210;  McDowell’s  fight,  52; 
ransom  of  Moores,  374;  Preston’s  Reg¬ 
ister  of  Indian  Depredations,  87 ;  History 
of,  246. 

Bailey, - ,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  169. 

Bailey,  M inter,  240. 

Baker,  - ,  discovers  Peter  Waggoner, 

410. 

Baker,  Henry,  killed  by  Indians,  291,  292. 

Baker,  Joshua,  murders  Logan  family, 
125,  148-150. 

Baker,  William,  explores  Kentucky,  115. 

Baker’s  bottom,  massacre  of  Indians  at, 
134,  142,  148-150,  184. 

Bald  Eagle,  killed  by  whites,  135,  136. 

Barkley,  Elihu,  with  Braddock,  66. 

Barlow’,  Joel,  agent  of  Scioto  Co.,  60. 

Bartlett’s  run,  248. 


Bath  county,  Va,,  census  (1830),  55,  56. 
Baxter’s  run,  247. 

Bean,  Capt.,  on  Sandusky  campaign, 
328. 


Beard,  Samuel,  early  settler,  127. 

Bear  Grass  river,  early  settlements  on, 
274;  foray  on,  384,  385. 

Beaver,  Delaware  chief,  45. 

Beaver  river,  Shingiss  Old  Town,  45; 
Moravians  on,  314;  Ft.  McIntosh  built, 
237;  treaty  at  Ft.  McIntosh,  366. 

Bedinger,  George  M.,  in  Bowman’s  cam¬ 
paign,  271. 

Bedford  county,  Pa.,  190;  in  “Black 
boys  ”  uprising,  112-114. 

Bedford  county,  Va.,  70;  militia  of,  164. 

Bell,  James,  with  Braddock,  66. 

Berkeley  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
55,56;  militia  of,  164. 

Berkeley,  Sir  William,  fosters  western 
exploration,  64. 

Berlin,  W.  Va.,  290;  foray  near,  421. 

Beverly,  W.  Va.,  origin  of,  74. 

Big  Beaver  river.  See  Beaver. 

Big  Bone  creek,  Clark  at,  146. 

Big  Bone  lick,  271. 

Biggs,  Benjamin,  early  settler,  125,  203; 
killed  by  Indians,  332. 

Big  Hockhocking  river.  See  Hockhock- 
ing. 

Big  Kanawha  river.  See  Great  Kanawha. 

Big  Knives.  See  Long  Knives. 

Big  lick,  162. 

Big  Miami  river.  See  Miami. 

Big  Sandy  river,  in  Shawnee  campaign, 
81-86. 


Big  Sewell  mountain,  origin  of  name, 
57. 

Bildercock, - ,  militia  officer,  227,  228. 

Bingamon  creek,  forays  on,  367,  369. 

Bird,  Henry,  attacks  American  border¬ 
ers,  254;  beseiges  Ft.  Laurens,  262;  in¬ 
vades  Kentucky,  286,  297-300,  305. 

Black  Beard,  Shawnee  chief,  268. 

Black  boys,  border  regulators,  105,  106; 
attack  Pennsylvania  traders,  109-116. 

Black  Fish,  Shawnee  chief,  201,  202,  266, 
268,  273. 

Black  Hoof,  Shawnee  chief,  268. 

Bledsoe,  Anthony,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
167. 


Blevins.  William,  early  settler,  59,  60. 

Blue  licks,  268;  Boone’s  captivity,  265- 
267;  battle  of,  351-354,  388. 

Blue  ridge,  69,  83,  100;  early  tribes  of,  44, 
47;  early  explorations  of,  64;  Borden 
grant,  51;  first  settlements  beyond,  50, 
52,  55. 

Bluestone  river,  61;  in  Sandy  creek  voy¬ 
age,  82. 

Boiling  Springs,  Ky.,  represented  in 
Transylvania  legislature,  193. 

Bolivar,  O.,  261. 

Bonnett,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  377. 

Boone  county,  N.  Y.,  Delawares  in,  136. 

Boone,  Daniel,  on  Holston,  59;  first  ex¬ 
plores  Kentucky,  142-144;  second  trip 


(431) 


432 


Index. 


(1773),  144,  145,  147;  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
152,  153,  190;  founds  Boonesborough, 
190-197;  captured  by  Indians,  265-267; 
in  Chene’s  attack  on  Boonesborough, 
268,  269;  in  Faint  creek  expedition, 
267,  268:  at  battle  of  Blue  licks,  351-353. 
Boone,  Mrs.  Daniel,  first  white  woman 
in  Kentucky,  196, 197. 

Boone,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  144, 145. 
Boone,  Squire,  explores  Kentucky,  143, 
144. 

Boonesborough,  Ky.,  founded,  190-197; 
first  attacked  by  Indians,  200,  202,  205; 
Bowman’s  arrival,  207,  208;  during 
Boone’s  captivity,  265-267;  Chene’s  at¬ 
tack  on,  268,  270;  during  Revolution, 
350,  351. 

Booth’s  creek,  origin  of  name,  122,  123; 

forays  on,  247,  248,  290,  309,  343. 

Booth*  James,  early  settler,  122,  123;  kill¬ 
ed  by  Indians,  247. 

Borden,  Benjamin,  Sr.,  land-grant,  50- 

54,  66;  sketch,  51. 

Borden,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  52. 

Boshears,  William,  scouting  service,  227, 
228. 

Botetourt  county,  Va.,  66,  70;  census 
(1830),  55,  56;  Holston  settlement,  59; 
militia  of,  81,  164,  165,  167,  209,  210. 
Bouquet,  Henry,  campaign  against  In¬ 
dians,  106-109, 173;  treaty  with  Indians, 
91,141,  173,179. 

Bourbon  county,  Ky.,  67,  115. 

Bowman,  James  L..  79. 

Bowman,  John,  campaign  (1779),  190; 
early  defense  of  Kentucky,  207,  208; 
Chillicothe  expedition,  271-274;  cited, 
268;  sketch,  271. 

Boyd,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  222. 
Bozarth, George,  adventure  with  Indians, 
429,  430. 

Bozarth,  John,  Sr.,  attacked  bv  Indians, 
279,  429,  430. 

Bozarth,  John,  Jr.,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  429,  430. 

Bozarth,  Mrs.,  adventures  with  Indians, 

279,  280. 

Braddock,  Edward,  campaign  and  de¬ 
feat  of,  65-6y,  71,  72,  77,  105,  106,  143,  145, 
147,  169. 

Braddock,  Pa.,  68. 

Braddock’s  road,  history  of,  77. 

Brain, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  240. 

Brain,  Benjamin,  captured  by  Indians, 

280,  281. 

Brain,  Isaac,  captured  by  Indians,  280, 

281. 

Brain,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  280,  281. 
Brant,  Joseph,  Indian  chief,  254. 

Braxton  county,  Va.,  Bulltown  massa¬ 
cre,  136-138. 

Breckenridge,  Robert,  in  Sandy-creek 
voyage,  81. 

Breiiton,  Capt.,  on  Sandusky  campaign, 

328. 

Bridger, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  292. 

Brinton,  Maj.,  on  Sandusky  campaign, 

328. 

Brodhead,  Daniel,  expedition  to  Mus¬ 
kingum,  300-305,  309;  receives  news 
from  Moravians,  315. 

Brooke  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 

55,  63;  forays  in,  380,  381. 

Brooks,  Thomas,  scout,  266. 

Brown,  - ,  in  New-river  foray,  96,  97. 

Brown, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  161. 

Brown,  Adam,  Sr.,  imprisoned  by  In¬ 
dians,  96,  97. 

Brown,  Adam,  Jr.,  96. 

Brown,  Coleman,  killed  by  Indians,  156. 
Brown,  James,  chases  Indians,  246;  at¬ 
tacked  by  Indians,  311. 


Brown,  John,  early  hunter,  121. 

Brown,  Samuel,  captured  by  Indians,  96. 

Brownsville,  Pa.  .See  Redstone. 

Bryan,  William, companion  of  Boone, 144. 

Bryant,  William,  killed  by  Indians,  348. 

Bryant  station,  Ky.,  threatened  by  Bird, 
296;  beseiged  bv  Caldwell,  348-351,  353, 
354. 

Buchanan,  John,  diary  of,  49. 

Buckhannon  river,  early  settlements  on, 
117-122,  127;  Bulltown  massacre,  136;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  151;  Indian  foravs  on, 
151,  275,  282,  284,  288,  290,  318,  319,  340, 
342,  343,  422,  428. 

Buffalo  creek,  first  settlement  on,  125; 
Indian  forays,  318,  374-376. 

Buffalo  gap,  Mackey’s  settlement  near, 50. 

Buffington,  Jonathan,  captured  by  In¬ 
dians,  311. 

Bnfhngton,  Mrs.,  killed  by  Indians,  311. 

Buford, - .  captain  in  Dunmore’s  war, 

164,  165, 170,  171. 

Bulger,  Maj.,  killed  at  Blue  licks,  353. 

Bulgess,  Adj.,  killed  by  Indians,  403. 

Bull,  Capt.,  killed  by  whites,  136-138. 

Bullitt,  Thomas,  in  Forbes’s  campaign, 
71;  surveys  Connolly  tract,  1-45,  146; 
sketch,  71,  72. 

Bullock,  Leonard  Henley,  of  Transyl¬ 
vania  Co.,  191. 

Bulltown.  Va.,  massacre  of  Delawares 
near,  136-138. 

Burd,  James,  at  Redstone,  77-79. 

Burning  Spring,  82,  85. 

Burns,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  245. 

Bush,  Adam,  chases  Indians,  397. 

Bush,  John,  adventure  with, Indians,  341, 
343;  killed  by  Indians,  396. 

Bush,  Mrs.  John,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  396,  397. 

Bushy  run,  Bouquet’s  fight  on,  108. 

Butler,  Mann,  Kentucky ,  193. 

Butler,  Richard,  treaty  commissioner, 
366,  388;  in  St.  Clair’s  campaign,  401- 
403. 

Butler,  Robert,  early  settler,  126. 

Butterfield,  Consul  W.,  Crawford' s  Expe¬ 
dition  Against  Sandusky ,  328;  History  of 
the  Girtys,  153,  178,  189,  224,  308,  347,  404; 
Washington-Irvine  Correspondence ,  262. 

Cabell  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
55,  56. 

Cahokia,  Ill.,  founded  by  La  Salle,  6;  In¬ 
dian  mounds  at,  40;  captured  by  Clark. 
253. 

Caldwell,  William,  expedition  against 
Kentucky,  348-354. 

California,' O.,  founded,  392. 

Calf  Pasture  river,  in  Pontiac  war,  97. 

Callaway,  Richard,  at  Watauga  treaty, 
192. 

Cameron,  Charles,  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

Cameron,  Daniel,  killed  by  Indians,  311. 

Campbell,  Arthur,  militia  officer,  268. 

Campbell,  Capt.,  on  Wayne’s  campaign, 
426,  427. 

Campbell,  George,  border  poet,  110,  HI. 

Campbell,  John,  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

Campbell,  William,  settles  on  Holston, 
59;  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

Camp  Charlotte,  Indian  treaty  at,  145, 
173,  176-186,  190,  197. 

Camp  Union,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  164, 165, 
167. 

Canaan,  Joseph,  killed  by  Indians,  422. 

Canestoga  Indians,  killed  by  Paxton, 
boys,  104,  105. 

Captina  creek,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  134, 
138,  148,  149,  153;  in  Revolution,  230. 

Carder,  William,  attacked  bv  Indians, 
419,  420. 


Index , 


433 


Carlisle,  Pa.,  trial  of  Smith,  113-115; 
Scotch-Irish  at,  143. 

Carmichael’s,  Pa.,  founded,  123. 

Carpenter,  Benjamin,  killed  by  Indians, 
414. 

Carpenter,  Dr.,  captured  by  Indians,  96, 
97. 

Carpenter,  Jeremiah,  414. 

Carpenter,  John,  captured  bv  Indians, 
319. 

Carpenter,  Nicholas,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  399,  400. 

Carpenter,  William,  killed  by  Indians, 
96,  97. 

Carr’s  creek,  massacre  on,  172,  173. 

Carver, - ,  settles  on  Greenbrier,  57. 

Carver,  Jonathan,  visits  western  In¬ 
dians,  20,  21,  23,  24;  on  Indian  creek, 38. 

Casper’s  lick,  152. 

Catawba  Indians,  early  strength  of,  46; 
attack  Delawares,  47;  fought  by  Mc¬ 
Dowell,  52;  claim  Kentucky,  142,  194. 

Catawba  river,  early  Indians  on,  46;  Pat¬ 
ton’s  settlement,  51;  forays  on,  96,  98. 

Catholics  (Roman),  missionary  efforts 
of,  36;  at  Gallipolis,  60.  See  Jesuits. 

Cayahoga  river,  Delawares  on,  45. 

Cayuga  Indians,  strength  of,  46;  in  Dun- 
more’s  war,  155,  172. 

Cedar  creek,  early  settlement  on,  52. 

Champlain,  Samuel  de,  founds  Quebec, 
4,5. 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  49,  59. 

Charlevoix,  Father,  on  origin  of  In¬ 
dians,  15, 16. 

Cheat  river,  63,  118:  first  settlements  on, 
75,  76,  126;  massacre  of  Indians  on,  135; 
Indian  forays  on,  240,  291,  310,  311. 

Chene,  Isidore,  attacks  Boonesborough, 
268-270. 

Cherokee  Indians,  early  strength  of,  46: 
capture  Sailing,  48,  49;  Williamson 
among,  104;  visit  Gov.  Glen,  59;  in 
Sandy-creek  voyage.  81,  82;  opposition 
to  Kentucky  settlers,  142,  145;  cession 
to  Henderson,  192,  195;  during  Revol¬ 
ution,  347. 

Chevrout,  Joseph,  relieves  Carder,  420. 

Chew,  Colby,  explores-Kentucky,  81. 

Chickamauga  Indians,  claim  Kentucky, 
142. 

Chickasaw  Indians,  early  strength,  46; 
claim  Kentucky,  142;  cession  to  Hen¬ 
derson,  195;  in  St.  Clair’s  campaign, 
403-405. 

Childers,  William,  settles  on  Youghio- 
gheny,  117,  118. 

Chillicothe  towns,  Dyer’s  captivity,  87; 
in  Dunmore’s  war,  176, 179,  182, 183, 187; 
Boone’s  captivity,  266,  267;  Bowman’s 
expedition  against,  271-274;  in  Piqua 
expedition,  305,  307-309;  Indian  coun¬ 
cil  at,  346,  347;  in  Harmar’s  campaign, 
393,  394. 

Chillicothe  (Old),  Renick  captivity,  91; 
Hannah  Dennis’s  escape,  91-93. 

Chillicothe  (New),  Hannah  Dennis’s  es¬ 
cape,  92. 

Chippewa  Indians,  early  strength,  46; 
fight  Clark,  252;  during  Revolution, 
347;  at  Ft.  McIntosh  treaty,  366,  388. 

Chiyawee,  Wyandot  chief,  172. 

Christian,  William,  in  Cherokee  cam¬ 
paign,  59;  in  New-river  foray,  99;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  165,  167,  170,  171,  190; 
killed  by  Indians,  385. 

Cincinnati,  Indian  relics  found  in,  42; 
Clark  on  site  of,  306;  genesis  of,  390- 
393;  in  Harmar’s  campaign,  393-395;  in 
St.  Clair’s  campaign,  401,  405;  in 
Wayne’s  campaign,  413,  419,  423. 

Circleville,  O.,  Indians  mounds  at,  41. 


Clark. - ,  on  St.  Clair’s  campaign,  402. 

Clark,  George,  scout,  271. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  on  Indian  mounds, 
40;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  134,  164;  arrival 
in  Kentucky,  197,  200;  in  early  defense 
of  Kentucky,  207;  founds  Louisville, 
146;  Illinois  campaign,  121,  123,  190, 
252-255  :  257-261,  270,  294,  295,  411;  Piqua 
campaign,  305-309;  Shawnee  campaign, 
354,  355;  Wabash  campaign,  386;  treaty 
commissioner,  366,  388;  in  Spanish, 
conspiracy,  130;  sketch,  253,  254. 

Clark,  John,  ambushed  by  Indians,  262. 

Clarke,  Col.,  Pennsylvania  militia  of¬ 
ficer,  263,  264. 

Clarksburg,  W.  Va.,  275;  founded,  127; 
in  Dunmore’s  war,  151;  during  Revolu¬ 
tion,  281,  310,  311,  341,  342,  345;  miscel¬ 
laneous  forays  near,  376,  381,  383,  397. 

Clay, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  166. 

Clegg, - ,  family  captured  by  Indians, 

398,  399. 

Clendennin’s  settlement,  Hannah  Den¬ 
nis  at,  93;  massacre  at,  93-95;  family 
captured  by  Indians,  172,  173. 

Clinch  river,  first  settlements  on,  59, '60; 
Boone  on,  145,  152;  in  Henderson’s 
grant,  193;  foray  on,  374. 

Coburn,  Capt.,  chases  Indians,  410,  411. 

Coburn’s  creek,  248,  249. 

Cochran,  Nathaniel,  captured  by  In¬ 
dians,  247,  250,  251. 

Cocke,  William,  at  Watauga  treaty,  192. 

Cohunnewago  Indians,  strength  of,  46. 

Colden,  C.,  Five  Nations  of  New  York,  194. 

Coleman,  Moses,  killed  by  Indians,  285. 

Columbia,  O.,  founded,  391,  392. 

Congo  creek,  176. 

Connecticut,  relinquishes  Western  land 
claim,  389. 

Connelly, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Connoly,  Darby,  killed  by  Indians,  234. 

Connolly,  John,  agent  of  Dunmore,  74, 

142,  145,  149 in  Dunmore’s  war,  164, 
179-181,  188;  land  claim  at  Louisville, 
145,  146. 

Conococheague  valley,  massacre  in,  101, 
105;  a  fur-trade  centre,  109,  113. 

Cooley,  William,  companion  of  Boone, 

143. 

Coomes,  William,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  201. 

Coon,  - ,  daughter  killed  by  Indians, 

218,  219. 

Coonce,  Mark,  French  trader,  79. 

Cooper, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  311, 

Coplin,  Benjamin,  kills  an  Indian,  344. 

Corbly,  John,  attacked  by  Indians,  345. 

Corn  island,  Clark  at,  253,  294. 

Cornstalk,  Shawnee  chief,  at  Point  Pleas¬ 
ant,  168,  170, 172,  173;  at  treaty  of  Camp 
Charlotte,  183-186;  imprisoned  at  Ft. 
Randolph,  209,  215,  216;  murder  of,  173, 
211-214,  235,  236,  241,  266;  sketch  of,  172, 
173. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  surrender  of,  347. 

Coshocton,  O.,  153,  314. 

Coshocton,  Indian  village,  Brodhead’s 
expedition  against,  302-305,  309,  316. 

Cottrial,  Andrew,  early  settler,  127. 

Cottrial,  Samuel,  early  settler,  127;  at¬ 
tacked  by  Indians,  284,  285. 

Cowan,  John,  on  Bullitt’s  survey,  146. 

Coward,  - ,  adventure  with  Indians, 

166. 

Cowpasture  river,  91. 

Cox,  Joseph,  captured  by  Indians,  419. 

Cozad,  Jacob,  Sr.,  sons  killed  by  Indians, 
420. 

Cozad,  Jacob,  Jr.,  escapes  from  Indians, 
420,  421. 

Craig,  Lieut.,  killed  by  Indians,  424, 


434 


Index. 


Craig,  James,  adventure  with  Indians, 
203. 

Craig’s  creek,  90. 

Crawford, - ,  killed  hv  Indians,  344. 

Crawford,  James,  early’settler,  123. 

Crawford,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  331, 
334, 336. 

Crawford,  William,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
164,  168,  179,  185,  220;  Sandusky  cam¬ 
paign  of,  328-339;  sketch,  334. 

Crawford,  William  (nephew  of  fore¬ 
going).  killed  by  Indians,  331. 

Cresap,  Michael,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  134, 
149,  154,  164;  accused  by  Logan,  184. 

Cresap,  Thomas,  opens  Braddock’s  road, 
77. 

Crooked  creek,  169,  170. 

Crooked  run,  Indian  forays  on,  282,  344. 

Cross  creek,  78. 

Cross,  Thomas,  Sr.,  91. 

Crouch,  James,  wounded  by  Indians, 

287. 

Crouse,  Peter,  killed  by  Indians,  282. 

Culpeper  county,  Va.,  59;  militia  of,  66; 
in  Dunmore’s'war,  159,  164. 

Cumberland  county,  Pa.,  143. 

Cumberland  Gap,  Walden’s  trip,  60; 
Boone  opens  path,  143,  192. 

Cumberland,  Md.,  Ohio  Co.’s  post  at,  77. 

Cumberland  river,  Walden’s  trip,  60;  ex¬ 
plored  by  Smith,  115;  Boone  on,  152;  in 
Henderson’s  purchase,  192,  193;  foray 
on,  200. 

Cundiff,  - ,  killed  at  Point  Pleasant, 

171. 

Cunningham,  Edward,  fight  with  In¬ 
dians,  238,  239,  367-370,  373. 

Cunningham,  Robert,  early  settler,  126. 

Cunningham,  Thomas,  218;  family  at¬ 
tacked  by  Indians.  367,  373. 

Cunningham,  Mrs.  Thomas,  captured  by 
Indians,  367-373. 

Curl,  Jeremiah,  attacked  by  Indians, 
288, 289. 

Curner,  - ,  on  Mad-river  campaign, 

387. 

Cusick,  David,  A ncient  History  of  Six  Na¬ 
tions,  18,  26,  40. 

Cutright,  Benjamin,  early  settler,  122. 

Cutright,  John,  Sr.,  early  settler,  122; 
murders  Indians,  137;  wounded  by  In¬ 
dians,  290. 

Cutright,  John,  Jr.,  122. 

Cutright,  Peter,  attacked  by  Indians, 

288,  289. 

Danville,  Kv.,  origin  of,  274;  conven¬ 
tion  at,  115,  190. 

Davis, - ,  settles  on  Ilolston,  59. 

Davis,  Mrs.,  daughter  of  John  Jackson, 

121. 

Davisson, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  373. 

Davisson,  Daniel,  early’settler,  127. 

Davisson,  Josiah,  brother  of  Nathaniel, 
283. 

Davisson,  Nathaniel,  killed  by  Indians, 
283,  284. 

Davisson,  Obadiah,  early  settler,  127. 

Decker,  Thomas,  early  settler,  123;  at¬ 
tacked  by  Indians,  77,  78. 

Decker’s  creek,  first  settlement  on,  77. 

De  Creve  Coeurs,  St.  John.  Lettres,  153. 

De  Hass,  Wills,  History  of  Indian  TFars, 

222. 

De  Huron,  George,  on  origin  of  Indians, 

15. 

De  Kalb,  Baron,  86. 

De  Laet,  John,  on  origin  of  Indians,  14. 

Delaware  Indians,  on'Upper  Ohio,  45,  46; 
attacked  by  Catawbas,  47;  in  Decker’s 
creek  massacre,  77-79;  Seybert  massa¬ 
cre,  88,  89;  New-river  foray,  96-99;  Bull- 


town  massacre.  136-138;  Pontiac’s  con¬ 
spiracy,  136;  claim  Kentucky,  142;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  150,  172,  179;  during 
Revolution,  219,  263,  301,  303,  314,  315, 
320,  332,  333,  347;  in  Harmar’s  cam¬ 
paign,  393;  Ft.  McIntosh  treaty,  366, 
388;  subsequent  foray,  371;  Wayne’s 
camgaign,  421. 

Delaware  river,  massacre  on,  101-104. 

De  Moraez,  Emanuel,  on  origin  of  In¬ 
dians,  14. 

Denman,  Matthias,  founds  Cincinnati, 

390-392. 

Dennis,  Hannah,  imprisoned  by  Indians, 

89-93,  95. 

Dennis,  Joseph,  killed  by  Indians,  89. 

Denton, - ,  assists  Mrs.  Cunningham, 

372. 

Denton,  Mrs.,  settles  in  Kentucky,  197. 

Deny,  William,  coroner  of  Bedford,  114, 

De  Peyster,  Arent  Schuyler,  comman- 
dant'at  Detroit,  295,  317,  365. 

De  Soto,  Ferdinand,  discovers  Missis¬ 
sippi,  7,  8. 

Detroit,  91;  Indian  villages  near,  46;  un¬ 
der  French  domination,  72;  Logan  at, 
155,  156;  Connolly  at,  181;  Boone  at, 
266,267;  English  headquarters  during 
Revolution,  252,  254,  255,  257;  English 
machinations  at,  2')7,  231,247,286,295, 
299,  317,  320,  336,  337;  arrival  of  peace 
news,  365. 

De  Villiers,  defeats  Washington,  74;  de¬ 
stroys  Redstone  fort,  77. 

Dickinson,  John,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  170, 
175. 

Dillon, - ,  killed  at  Point  Pleasant,  171. 

Dillon,  Mrs.,  killed  by  Indians,  240. 

Dinwiddie,  Robert,  governor  of  Virginia, 
53,  65;  authorizes  Sandy-creek  voyage, 
81,  83,  84;  Papers,  68,  86. 

Dix,  Webster,  119. 

Dodd,  Ensign,  on  Wayne’s  campaign, 
424. 

Doddridge,  John,  early  settler,  125. 

Doddridge,  Joseph,  Notes  on  the  Settle¬ 
ments,  125,  126,  153,  183;  MS.  of,  221. 

Donelson,  Col.,  runs  Indian  boundary, 
195. 

Donnelly,  Andrew,  beseiged  by  Indians, 
242-245;  repulses  them,  291. 

Dorman,  Timothy,  captured  by  Indians, 
340,  341;  turns  renegade,  341,  342. 

Dougherty,  Daniel,  captured  by  Indians, 
311,  312. 

Dougherty,  Mrs.,  killed  by  Indians,  311. 

Doughtv,  Maj.,  builds  Ft.  Washington, 
391. 

Douglas,  James,  on  Bullitt’s  survey,  146. 

Dragging  Canoe,  Cherokee  chief,  192. 

Dragoo,  Mrs.,  killed  by  Indians,  374,  375. 

Drake,  Lieut.,  ou  Wayne’s  campaign, 
424. 

Drake,  Lieut.-col.^  on  St.  Clair’s  cam¬ 
paign,  402. 

Drake,  Samuel  G.,  Aboriginal  Races  of 
North  America,  409. 

Draper,  Lyman  C.,  historical  notes  bv, 
40,  50-53,'  57-60,  65,  66,  68,  71,  72,  75,  79,  81, 
83,  85-88,  90,  96,  97,  99,  101,  104,  106-108, 
115,  121,  123;  interviews  Sailing’s  de¬ 
scendants,  48;  on  aboriginal  claims  to 
Kentucky,  193-195;  cited,  183,  203,  254. 

Drinnon,  Thomas,  attacked  by  Indians, 
292,  293. 

Drinnon,  Lawrence,  attacked  by  Indians, 
291,  292. 

Duke,  Francis,  killed  by  Indians,  359, 
360. 

Dunbar,  Pa.,  settled  by  Gist,  74. 

Dunkard  bottom,  settled,  126;  massacre 
on,  240. 


Index. 


435 


Dunkard  creek,  a  war  trail,  75:  first  set¬ 
tled  on,  75;  forays  on,  249,  250,  279,  398, 
399. 

Dunkards,  early  settlements  by,  75;  mas¬ 
sacre  of,  76,  77. 

Dunkin,  John,  militia  officer,  207. 

Dunlap,  James,  in  Sandy-creek  voyage, 
81;  killed  by  Indians,  87. 

Dunlap  creek,  first  settlement  on,  77; 
foray  on,  96. 

Dunmore,  Lord,  74;  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
135-190,  197,  209,  220,  253,  385;  opposes 
Henderson’s  purchase,  192. 

Du  Pratz,  Le  Page,  History  of  Louisiana , 
49. 

Durrett,  Reuben  T.,  Centenary  of  Louis¬ 
ville,  294. 

Dutch,  introduce  African  slavery,  10;  in 
New  York,  48. 

Dver,  James,  imprisoned  by  Indians, 
87,  88. 

East  Meadows,  Braddock  at,  67. 

Eckarly  family,  early  settlers,  126. 

Eckarly,  Thomas,  Dunkard  pioneer,  75; 
massacre  of  his  brother,  76,  77. 

Economy,  Pa.,  413. 

Ecuyer,  Simeon,  under  Bouquet,  107. 

Edwards,  David,  killed  by  Indians,  252. 

Edwards,  William,  Moravian  mission¬ 
ary,  314,  317. 

Elk  creek,  in  Caldwell’s  invasion,  351; 
during  Revolution,  284;  foray  on,  367. 

Elk  river,  origin  of  name,  118,  119;  first 
settlement  on,  126,  127;  Stroud  massa¬ 
cre,  136,  137;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  166, 
167,  175;  foray  on,  414. 

Elk’s  Eye  creek.  See  Muskingum. 

Ellinipsico,  Cornstalk’s  son,  172,  211-213. 

Elliott,  Matthew,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  182, 
1S9;  attacks  Wheeling,  316,  317;  encour¬ 
ages  forays.  347,  388. 

Ellis,  Franklin,  History  of  Fayette  Co.,  77. 

English,  territorial  claims  of,  1-5,  7;  em¬ 
igration  to)  Virginia,  49;  first  occupa¬ 
tion  of  the  Ohio,  63;  struggle  for  Forks 
of  Ohio,  64-74;  Braddock’s  campaign, 
€5-69;  Forbes’s  campaign,  69-73;  Bou¬ 
quet’s  expedition,  106-109;  Dunmore’s 
war,  134-190;  Bird’s  invasion,  294-300, 
305,  336,  337;  Caldwell’s  invasion,  348- 
354;  second  seige  of  Wheeling,  356, 
357;  encourage  forays  on  American 
borderers,  147,  207-210*,  215,  216,  224,  225, 
231,  236,  252,  253,  260,  285,  286,  317,  388, 
425-427. 

Episcopalians,  50,  57. 

Fairfax,  Lord,  land-grant  of,  50,  51,  334; 
militia  officer,  101. 

Fairfield.  Va.,  settled,  52. 

Fallen  Timbers,  battle  of,  425-42S. 

Falling  Spring,  Va.,  86. 

Falls  of  Ohio.  -See  Louisville. 

Fauquier  county,  Va.,  145. 

Fauquier,  governor  of  Virginia,  86. 

Fayette  county,  Pa.,  settled,  74,  123;  mil¬ 
itia  from,  328. 

Fayette  county,  VV.  Va.,  57. 

Fayetteville,  N.  C.,  192. 

Field,  John,  with  Braddock,  66;  adven¬ 
ture  with  Indians,  159-161;  in  Dun¬ 
more’s  war,  164,  166,  169,  171. 

Files.  See  Foyle,  Robert. 

Files  creek,  first  settlement  on,  74. 

Files  family,  massacre  of,  126. 

Filson,  John,  partner  of  Denman,  391; 
Boone' 8  Narrative,  268. 

Fincastle  county,  Va.,  56,  220;  Preston  as 
surveyor,  140,  146;  militia  of,  167. 

Findlay,  John,  explores  Kentucky,  142- 
144. 


Fink, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  340. 

Fink,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  318,  319. 

Fink,  Henry,  early  settler,  126;  attacked 
by  Indians,  288,  318,  319. 

Fink’s  run,  122. 

Fish  creek,  a  war  trail,  75,  399;  Clark  at, 
134,  253;  foray  on,  399. 

Fishing  creek,  foray  on,  374;  garrison 
on,  417. 

Fitzpatrick,  John,  on  Bullitt’s  survey, 
146. 

Fleming,  William,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
164,  167-170,  174,  175. 

Flesher,  Henry,  attacked  by  Indians, 
366,  367. 

Floyd,  John,  Kentucky  surveyor,  152; 
Diary  of,  196;  builds  fort  at  Louisville, 
294;  in  Piqua  campaign,  307. 

Florida,  discovered  by  Spanish,  7,  8. 

Folebaum,  George,  killed  by  Indians, 
362. 

Folke,  George,  killed  by  Indians,  102, 
103. 

Fontaine,  Maj.,  killed  by  Indians,  395. 

Forbes,  John,  campaign  against  Ft.  Du 
Quesne,  69-73,  77,  79,  108,  145,  190. 

Fordvce,  Capt.,  72. 

Foreman.,  William,  defeated  hy  Indians, 
228-230,  356. 

Fort  Bedford,  in  “  Black  boys  ”  uprising, 
112-114. 

Fort  Bolling,  during  Revolution,  226. 

Fort  Boone,  seat  of  Henderson  colony, 
153. 

Fort  Buckhannon,  during  Revolution, 
313. 

Fort  Burd.  See  Redstone. 

Fort  Bush,  121. 

Fort  Casinoe,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  151. 

Fort  Coburn,  during  Revolution,  248. 

Fort  Crevecoeur,  built  by  La  Salle,  6; 
Sailing  at,  48. 

Fort  Cumberland,  71. 

Fort  Dickenson,  massacre  of  children, 
100. 

Fort  Dinwiddie,  in  Sandy-creek  voyage, 
81;  in  New-river  foray,  97,  99;  during 
Revolution,  291. 

Fort  Du  Quesne,  erected,  65;  Braddock’s 
expedition,  65-69;  Forbes's  campaign, 
69-73;  destroyed,  73.  See  Pittsburg. 

Fort  Fincastle.  See  Wheeling. 

Fort  PTnney,  built,  392;  treaty  of,  388. 

Fort  Frederick,  71. 

Fort  Frontenac,  built  by  La  Salle,  6;  Sai¬ 
ling  at,  48. 

Fort  Gower,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  179,  182. 

Fort  Greenville.  See  Greenville,  O. 

Fort  Hadden,  during  Revolution,  286. 

Fort  Hamilton,  built  by  St.  Clair,  401; 
in  Wayne’s  campaign,  413. 

Fort  Henry.  See  Wheeling. 

Fort  Hollidav,  during  Revolution,  226, 
227. 

Fort  Jackson,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  151. 

Fort  Jefferson  (Ky.),  built  by  Clark,  254. 

Fort  Jefferson  (O.),  built  by  St.  Clair, 
401-403,  405;  in  Wayne's  campaign, 
413. 

Fort  Laurens,  during  Revolution,  256, 
261-265. 

Fort  Le  Bceuf,  Washington  at,  74,  77. 

Fort  Ligonier,  in  Forbes’s  campaign,  73. 

Fort  Littleton,  in  French  and  Indian 
war,  190. 

Fort  Loudon,  in  “  Black  boys  ”  uprising, 

110,  111. 

Fort  McIntosh,  built,  237;  during  Revo¬ 
lution,  263,  265;  treaty  of,  366. 

Fort  Martin,  during  Revolution,  282. 

Fort  Massac,  Clark  at,  253. 

Fort  Miami,  Indian  villages  near,  46. 


436 


Index 


Fort  Necessity,  Washington’s  defeat  at, 
69,  74,  77,  145. 

Fort  Nutter,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  151;  dur¬ 
ing  Revolution,  275,  341. 

Fort  Pitt.  See  Pittsburg. 

Fort  Pleasant,  Eckarlv  at,  76. 

Fort  Powers,  during  Revolution,  247. 

Fort  Pricket,  in  .Dunmore’s  war,  151; 
during  Revolution,  240.  275,  279. 

Fort  Randolph.  See  Point  Pleasant. 

Fort  Recovery,  401;  built  by  Wilkinson, 
419;  in  Wayne’s  campaign,  423,  424. 

Fort  Richards,  during  Revolution,  240, 
241. 

Fort  Sackville.  See  Vincennes. 

Fort  St.  Joseph,  Indian  villages  near, 
46;  in  Wayne’s  campaign,  413. 

Fort  Seybert,  massacre  at,  87-89. 

Fort  Shepherd,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  151. 

Fort  Stradler,  during  Revolution,  249, 
250. 

Fort  Stanwix,  treaty  of,  70,  195. 

Fort  Washington.  See  Cincinnati. 

Fort  Wells,  381. 

Fort  West,  during  Revolution.  240,  241, 

245,  246;  forays  against,  287-290,  410. 

Fort  Westfall,’ in  Dunmore’s  war,  151; 

during  Revolution,  343. 

Fort  Wilson,  during  Revolution,  343. 

Fort  Young,  Hannah  Dennis  at,  93;  in 
New-river  foray,  96,  97. 

Fox  river,  explored  by  French,  6. 

Foyle,  Robert,  settles  on  Files’s  creek, 
74;  massacre  of  family,  75. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  145. 

Franklin  county,  Pa.,  106. 

Franklin,  W.  Va.,  87. 

Frederick  county,  Va.,  established,  55; 
census  (1830),  55,  56;  Borden  manor,  51; 
militia  of,  101,  164. 

Freeman, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  412. 

Freeman,  Mrs.,  killed  by  Indians,  245, 

246. 

Freeman’s  creek,  forays  on,  396,  419. 

French  in  America,  territorial  claims,  5; 
early  explorations,  4-6;  occupy  Upper 
Ohio,  45,  63,  64;  ransom  Sailing,  48; 
conflict  with  Ohio  Co.,  64,  65,  74, 77,  123, 
147;  on  Muskingum,  79:  on  Scioto,  82; 
Braddock’s  campaign,  65-69;  Forbes’s 
campaign,  69-73;  French  and  Indian 
war,  143,  145.  156,  159,  190,  334;  found 
Gallipolis.  60.  82;  make  peace  with 
England,  106,  120;  in  attack  on  Boones- 
borough,  268-270;  relations  with  Clark, 
254. 

French  creek,  Smith’s  expedition  to, 
106.. 

French  lick,  193. 

Friedensstadt,  Pa.,  Moravian  village,  314, 
319. 

Friend,  Joseph,  chases  Indians,  311. 

Frothingham,  Lieut.,  killed  by  Indians, 
395. 

Fry,  Col.,  in  Braddock's  army,  66. 

Fulleuwieder,  Peter,  defends  Rice’s  fort, 
362. 

Fur  trade,  tribal  barter,  34;  at  Winches¬ 
ter,  47;  Borden’s  trade,  51;  of  Ohio  Co., 
64,  65,  67,  74,  77,  147;  on  Scioto,  82; 
French  and  English  rivalry,  138,  139; 
Findlay’s  adventures,  143;  of  Dun- 
kards,  76;  Gibson’s,  79;  “Black-boys” 
trouble,  106,  109-116;  Simpson’s  adven¬ 
tures,  118,  119;  at  Pringle’s  fort,  120;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  150;  McKee’s,  847;  in 
W.  Va.,  361. 

Furrenash,  Charles,  children  killed  by 
Indians,  313. 

Gaddis,  Thomas,  on  Sandusky  cam¬ 
paign,  328. 


Gage,  Thomas,  confers  with  Connollv, 
181. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  founds  Geneva,  W.  Va., 
117. 

Gallipolis,  founded  by  French,  60,  82,  81. 

Game,  pioneers  as  hunters,  131;  on 
Greenbrier,  56.  57.  126;  in  Kentucky, 
196,  198,  199,  206,  265,  266;  in  Valley  of 
Virginia,  119-122;  in  Tvgart’s  valley,. 
232,  234;  in  West  Virginia,  280,  283,  367, 
374,  375,  410.  411. 

Garcia,  Gregorio,  on  origin  of  Indians, 
14. 

Gates,  Horatio,  at  Saratoga,  86. 

Gatliff,  Charles,  fights  Indians,  244. 

Gaulev  river,  57;  Stroud  massacre,  136, 
137. 

Genet,  Edmund  Charles,  commissions 
Clark,  254. 

Geneva,  W.  Va.,  founded,  117. 

George,  Robert,  attacks  James  Smith,  114. 

George’s  creek,  Pringle  settlement,  117;. 
murder  of  Bald  Eagle,  136. 

Georgia,  early  slavery  in,  9,  10;  in  Te- 
cumseh’s  conspiracy,  36. 

Germans,  at  Gallipoli’s.  60. 

Gibson,  Col.  John,  at  Fort  Pitt,  78,  79;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  176, 184;  expert  swords¬ 
man,  207;  commands  Ft.  Laurens,  256, 
261-265. 

Gibson,  John,  family  captured  by  In¬ 
dians,  287. 

—Giles  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  55,  56. 

Gilmore, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  211,  212. 

Girty,  George  and  James,  renegades,  178; 
during  Revolution,  295. 

Girty,  Simon,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  178, 
179,  184,  189;  not  at  Wheeling  seige, 
224,  225,  231;  during  Revolution,  254, 
262,  273,  295,  308,  333,  334,  347,  350-353; 
subsequent  forays,  372,388;  in  St.  Clair’s 
defeat,  404. 

Gist,  Christopher,  visits  Shingiss,  45; 
trip  down  Ohio,  79;  settles  Fayette 
Co.,  Pa.,  74,  77,  123. 

Glass, - ,  family  attacked  by  Indians, 

380,  381. 

Glenn, - .governor of  South  Carolina, 

59. 

Glum,  Mrs.,  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  225. 

Gnadenhiitten,  Moravian  village,  314, 
317;  sacked  by  whites,  319,  321-327. 

Gnatty  creek,  foray  on,  382. 

Goff,  John,  early  settler,  126. 

Goldsby, - ,  killed  at  Point  Pleasant, 

171. 

Gooch,  Sir  William,  grants  Borden  ma¬ 
nor,  50,  51. 

Gordon,  Capt.,  killed  at  Blue  Licks,  353. 

Goschocking.  See  Coshocton. 

-•Graham,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  245. 

Grand  Portage,  Carver  at,  20. 

Grand  river.  See  Ottawa. 

Grant,  James,  with  Braddock,  66;  de¬ 
feated  by  Indians,  68-73;  in  “Black- 
boys”  uprising,  110,  111. 

Grave  creek,  Indian  mounds  on,  40;  first 
settlement  on,  125;  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
134;  in  Foreman’s  defeat,  229,  230,  235, 
356. 

Grayson  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  55. 

Great  bridge,  Va.,  defeat  of  Fordvce,  72. 

Greathouse,  Daniel,  murders  Logan’s 
family,  125,  149. 

Great  Kanawha  river,  60,  61;  Sailing  on, 
49;  discovered  by  Wood,  64;  in  Sandy- 
creek  voyage,  82,  85;  in  Hannah  Den¬ 
nis’s  escape,  93;  Squire  Boone  on,  143; 
in  Dunmore’s  war,  145,  159-161,  164-167, 
169-174,  178;  in  Hand’s  expedition,  209- 
211;  during  Revolution,  291-292;  salines 
of,  265. 


Index 


437 


Groat  Meadows,  Washington  at,  77,  145. 

Great  Miami  river.  See  Miami. 

Great  Sandy  river,  60,  61;  in  New-river 
foray.  96. 

Green,  George,  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  356. 

Green  river,  Henderson’s  grant  on,  196; 
early  surveys,  365;  early  settlements, 
274. 

Green,  Thomas  M.,  Spanish  Conspiracy, 
386. 

Greenbrier  county,  W.  Va.,  53,  54,  57,  71, 
91;  census  (1830),  55,  56;  Shawnee  at¬ 
tack  (1755),  81;  Clendennin  massacre, 
93-95;  militia  from,  210,  211;  emigrants 
from,  286;  forays  into,  242-245,  291-293. 

-Greenbrier  rive*rv61;  explored,  126;  ori¬ 
gin  of  name, '42/  Loyal  Co.’s  grant,  49; 
first  settlements  on,  56-59;  Lewis  on, 
68;  in  Pontiac’s  war,  97. 

Greenlee,  Mary,  enters  land  on  Borden 
manor.  52,  53. 

Greenville,  O.,  Ft.  Hamilton  built,  401; 
treaty  at,  420,  430. 

Gregg,  Mrs.,  attacked  by  Indians,  343. 

Grenadier  Squaw,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
176;  at  Ft.  Randolph,  242;  in  Mad-river 
campaign,  388. 

Grigsby,  Charles,  family  killed  by  In¬ 
dians,  217,  218. 

Grim,  John,  183. 

Grollon,  Father,  on  origin  of  Indians, 
15, 16. 

Grundy,  Felix,  247. 

Grundy,  William,  killed  by  Indians,  247. 

Gunn,  Catharine,  imprisoned  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  98. 

Gwinnett,  Button,  killed  by  McIntosh, 
237. 

Hacker,  John,  settles  on  Buckhannon, 
121,122;  daughter  wounded  by  Indians, 
378-380. 

Hacker,  Mrs.,  attacked  by  Indians,  245. 

Hacker,  William,  early  hunter,  121;  mur¬ 
ders  Indians,  135,  137;  attacked  by  In¬ 
dians,  245. 

Hacker’s  creek,  Indian  relics  on,  42;  ori¬ 
gin  of  name,  121,  122;  first  settlement 
on,  127;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  151;  Bull- 
town  massacre,  136,  137;  killing  of 
Hughes  and  Lowther,  240,  241;  Wag¬ 
goner  massacre,  408,  411;  miscellane¬ 
ous  foravs  on,  275,  287-290,  367,  377,  382, 
419,  420. 

Hadden, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Hadden,  John,  234. 

Hagerstown,  Md.,  361. 

Hagle,  Michael,  killed  by  Indians,  341. 

Haldimand,  Sir  Frederick,  English  gen¬ 
eral-in-chief,  252,  261. 

Half  King,  Wyandot  chief,  230,  316. 

Hall,  Capt.,  murders  Cornstalk,  211,  212. 

Hall,  James,  Sketches  of  the  West,  193. 

Hall,  Minor  C.,  287. 

Hamilton, - ,  adventure  with  Indians, 

211,  212. 

Hamilton,  Capt.,  chases  Indians,  245. 

Hamilton,  Henry,  English  lieutenant- 
governor,  207,  210;  encourages  Indian 
forays,  224,  225,  252,  266,  268,  269;  attacks 
Clark,  253,  257,  258;  captured  by  Clark, 
254,  255,  259-261. 

Hamilton,  Miss,  captured  by  Indians, 
234. 

Hammond,  Philip,  scouting  adventure, 
242,  243. 

Hampden  Sydney  College,  Va.,  81. 

Hampshire  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56;  militia  from,  101,  230. 

JEamtramck,  J.  F.,  on  Harmar’s  cam¬ 
paign,  394;  on  St.  Clair’s  campaign, 
401. 


Hancock,  William,  escapes  from  Indians, 
267,  268. 

Hand,  Edward,  commands  Ft.  Pitt,  209- 
211,  213,  214,  216,  219,  221,  230;  MS.  of, 
221;  sketch,  210. 

Handsucker, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  398, 

399. 

Hangard.  See  Redstone. 

Hanover  county,  Va.,  191. 

Haptonstall,  Abraham,  on  Bullitt’s  sur¬ 
vey,  146. 

Harbert, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  238. 

Hardin  county,  Ky.,  origin  of  name,  123. 

Hardin,  John,  early  Kentucky  settler, 
123;  on  Harmar’s  campaign,  394;  killed 
by  Indians,  412. 

Hardman, - ,  of  Hacker’s  creek,  410. 

Hardy  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Hargus,  John,  kills  an  Indian,  154,  155. 

Harlan,  Silas,  in  Bowman’s  campaign, 
271. 

Harland,  Maj.,  killed  at  Blue  Licks,  253. 

Harmar,  Josiah,  at  treaty  of  Ft.  McIn¬ 
tosh,  366;  occupies  Ft.  Washington, 
391,  392;  campaign  of,  384,  393-395,  400, 
408. 

Harpold,  Nicholas,  kills  Indians,  135. 

Harrison, - ,  attacked  by  Indians,  344. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
170;  governor  of  Virginia,  366. 

Harrison,  Burr,  rescued  by  Logan,  203. 

Harrison  county,  W.  Va.,  373;  census 
(1830),  56,  63;  first  sheriff  of,  127;  forays 
in,  217,  369. 

Harrison,  S.  R.,  cited,  310. 

Harrison,  William,  killed  by  Indians, 
331,  334,  336. 

Harrison,  William  H.,  defeats  Tecum- 
seh,  36. 

Harrod,  James,  on  Bullitt’s  survey,  146; 
founds  Harrodsburg,  152,  190,  191; 
prominence  as  a  pioneer,  197,  200; 
sketch,  190,  191. 

Harrod,  Samuel,  explores  Kentuckv,190. 

Harrod,  William,  with  Clark,  190;  in 
Bowman’s  campaign,  271,  273. 

Harrodsburg,  Ky.,  founded,  146,  152,  190, 
191,  197;  represented  in  Transylvania 
legislature,  193;  first  attacked  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  200-202,  205,  208;  Clark’s  defense 
of,  253;  settlers’  council  at,  271. 

Hart,  David,  of  Transylvania  Co.,  191. 

Hart,  Nathaniel,  of  Transylvania  Co., 
191-193. 

Hart,  Thomas,  of  Transylvania  Co.,  191. 

Hartley,  Cecil  B.,  Life  of  Wetzel,  161. 

Hartshorn, - ,  ensign  in  Harmar’s  cam¬ 

paign,  394;  captain  with  Wayne,  423. 
424. 

Haymond,  John,  chases  Indians,  398. 

Hayward,  John,  History  of  Tennessee,  60. 

Hazard,  Samuel,  U.  S.  Register,  193. 

Heavener,  Nicholas,  121; 

Heckewelder,  John  G.,  Moravian  mis¬ 
sionary.  97,  301,  302.  314,  315,  317;  peace 
commissioner,  412;  Narrative,  325; 
sketch,  301,  302. 

Hedgman  river,  55. 

Hellen,  Thomas,  captured  by  Indians, 
156,  157;. killed  by  Indians,  161. 

Helms,  Leonard,  holds  Vincennes,  258, 
260. 

Henderson,  Archibald,  193. 

Henderson,  Nathaniel,  at  Watauga 
treaty,  192. 

Henderson,  Richard,  founds  Transylva. 
nia,  153,  191-196;  sketch,  191-193. 

Henderson,  Samuel,  father  of  Richard, 
191. 

Henderson,  Leonard,  193. 

Hennepin,  Father  Louis,  French  ex¬ 
plorer,  6. 


438 


Index. 


Henry  county,  Va.,  GO. 

Henry,  Patrick,  governor  of  Virginia, 
173,  186,  220.  366. 

Herbert,  William,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
167,  175. 

Hickenbotham,  Capt.,  attacks  Indians, 
99. 

Hickman,  Adam,  Jr.,  127. 

Hickman,  Sotha,  early  settler,  127,  284. 

Hill,  Richard,  attacked  by  Indians,  291. 

Hinkstone.  - ,  captured  by  Indians, 

297,  298,  305. 

Hite,  Isaac,  on  Bullitt’s  survey,  146. 

Hockhocking  river,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
168, 179, 182, 183;  Indians  raided  on,  383. 

Hockingport,  O.,  founded,  179. 

Hogan,  Mrs.,  settles  in  Kentucky,  197. 

Hogg,  James,  of  Transylvania  Co.,  191. 

Hogg,  Peter,  in  Sandy-creek  voyage,  81- 
85. 

Hogg,  William,  in  Sandy-creek  voyage, 81. 

Hoggin, - ,  of  St.  Asaph’s,  205. 

Holden,  Joseph,  companion  of  Boone, 
143. 

Holder,  John,  in  Bowman’s  campaign, 
271. 

Holder’s  station,  Ky,,  during  Caldwell’s 
invasion,  349. 

Hollis,  John,  Indian  spy,  245. 

Holmes,  John,  informs' against  James 
Smith,  114. 

Holston,  Stephen,  settles  on  Holston,  59. 

Holston  river,  60;  first  settlements  on, 
58,  115;  forays  on,  158,  184. 

Holston  settlements,  militia  of,  165, 170, 
268;  Harrod  at,  190;  Boone  at,  196;  Lo¬ 
gan  at,  204-206;  Mrs.  Cunningham  at, 
372,  373. 

Hornbeck,  Benjamin,  captured  by  In¬ 
dians,  311. 

Hornbeck,  Mrs.,  killed  by  Indians,  311. 

Horse  Shoe  bottom,  settled,  126. 

Horton,  Joshua,  explores  Kentucky,  115. 

Howard,  John,  companion  of  Sailing,  49. 

Hudson,  William,  killed  by  Indians,  203. 

Hughes,  Charles,  chases  Indians,  246. 

Hughes,  Elias,  scouting  service,  312; 
fights  Indians,  345,  376,  377. 

Hughes,  Jesse,  early  hunter,  121;  chases 
Indians,  246,  378,  *379,  410;  services  at 
Ft.  West,  288;  scouting  service,  312; 
escapes  from  Indians,  399,  400;  daugh¬ 
ter  captured  by  Indians,  377-380;  char¬ 
acter,  137. 

Hughes,  Thomas,  early  settler,  121,  123; 
defense  of  borderers,  367;  killed  by  In¬ 
dians,  240,  241. 

Hughey,  Joseph,  killed  by  Indians,  168. 

Hull,  Samuel,  killed  by  Indians,  383. 

Huron  Indians,  possible  origin  of,  16. 

Husted,  Gilbert,  captured  by  Indians, 
248. 

Hutchins,  Thomas,  geographer,  46. 

Iberville,  Lemovne  d’,  finds  Missis¬ 
sippi,  7. 

Ice,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  374. 

Illinois,  early  French  in,  6,  7;  Clark’s  ex¬ 
pedition  to,  146,  252-255,  257,  261. 

Illinois  Indians,  claim  Kentucky,  142; 
agree  to  keep  peace,  412. 

Ingles,  Capt.,  on  New-river  campaign,  99. 

— Indian  creek,  foray  on,  312,  313. 

Indian  Short  creek,  380,  381,  415. 

Indians,  origin  of,  12-27;  beliefs,  cus¬ 
toms  and  traditions,  17-43;  forest  com¬ 
merce,  34;  prehistoric  remains,  39—43 ; 
intimacy  with  French,  5,  64;  relations 
with  Spanish,  7-9;  claims  to  Kentucky 
reviewed.  193-195;  relations  with  first 
settlers,  129-133;  Christian  missions 
among,  106.  6'ec  the  several  tribes. 


Iroquois  Indians,  supposed  origin  of,  44 j 
oppose  French  on  Ohio,  64;  at  Easton 
treaty,  58;  at  Ft.  Stanwix  treaty,  70; 
claim  Kentucky,  194,  195. 

Irvine,  William,  releases  Moravians,  317; 
Indian  campaign  of,  355. 

Isaac’s  creek,  312. 

Ivens,  Sally,  captured  bv  Indians,  373, 
374. 

Jackson, - ,  adventure  with  Indians, 

289. 

Jackson  county,  O.,  175. 

Jackson  county,  W.  Va.,  137. 

Jackson,  Edward,  early  settler,  121. 

Jackson,  George,  early  settler,  121;  at* 
tacked  by  Indians,  313;  defends  Buck* 
hannon,  342;  chases  Indians,  398. 

Jackson,  John,  early  settler, 121;  attacked 
by  Indians,  313. 

Jackson,  Ned  J.,  287. 

Jackson’s  river.  57,  71,  81;  Hannah  Den* 
nis  on,  93;  in  Pontiac  war,  97;  foraya 
on,  90,  96,  173. 

James,  Enoch,  adventure  with  Indians, 

218,  219. 

James  river,  61,  66.  86;  Sailing  on,  48,  50; 
early  settlements  on,  52;  McDowell’s 
fight,  52;  Borden’s  grant,  50-53;  forays 
on,  89-91,  96. 

Jefferson  county, W.Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  on  origin  of  Indians, 
13,  14,  25,  26;  on  Indian  mounds,  41; 
“  improves  ”  Logan’s  speech,  184;  Notes 
on  Virginia ,  134. 

Jesuits,  early  missions  to  Indians,  14, 15,. 
60,  64,  410,  411:  Relations,  194. 

Jew, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  91. 

Jew,  Sally,  imprisoned  by  Indians,  90. 

Johnson,  - ,  thought  to  have  been 

killed  by  James  Smith,  113-115. 

Johnson,  Henry  and  John,  escape  from 
Indians,  415-417. 

Johnson,  Richard  M.,  348. 

Johnson,  Robert,  arrives  in  Kentucky, 
348. 

Johnson,  William,  family  massacred  by 
Indians,  381,  382. 

Johnson,  Sir  William,  British  Indian 
superintendent,  108,  136. 

Johnston,  William,  of  Transylvania,  191. 

Joliet,  Louis,  discovers  Mississippi,  5,  6. 

Judah,  Henry,  kills  Indians,  135. 

Juggins,  Elizabeth,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  309,  310. 

Juggins,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  290. 

Juniata  river,  112,  113. 

Kanawha  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),, 

55,  56. 

Kaskaskia,  Ill.,  294;  founded  by  La  Salle, 
6;  Sailing  at,  48;  Clark's  capture  of, 
253-255,  257,  258,  260,  411. 

Kate  (uegress),  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  356. 

Keeney’s  knob,  massacre  at,  173. 

Kekionga,  Miami  village,  393. 

Kellar,  Isaac,  killed  by  Indians,  385. 

Kelly,  Tady,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  153. 

Kelly,  Walter,  killed  by  Indians,  159-161. 

Kennedy,  John,  wounded  by  Indians, 
203. 

Kenton,  Simon,  border  scout,  161;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  164,  167;  arrival  iu 
Kentucky,  197. 

Kentucky,  66,  67,  75;  Indian  antiquities 
in,  43;  exploration  by  Sailing,  48,  49; 
by  Bullitt,  71;  by  Walker,  81;  by  Smith, 
115;  bv  Findlay,  142,  143;  bv  Boone, 
142-145,  147,  152,  153,  190;  by  Stone,  190; 
Indian  claims  to,  193-195;  Connolly’s 
survey,  145,  146;  first  settlements  in, 
123,  197;  early  land  jobbing,  196,  197; 


Index 


439 


Harrodsburg  founded,  146,  190;  Indian 
opposition  to  first  settlers,  140-142,  189, 
190,  200-208;  character  of  pioneers,  197- 
200;  rapid  increase  of  population,  274; 
Transylvania  Co.,  191-196;  early  mis¬ 
sions,  106;  Spanish  conspiracy,  130; 
state  convention,  106. 

Kentucky  river,  Boone  on,  152.  153;  Har- 
rod  on,  190;  Catawbas  on,  194;  in  Hen¬ 
derson’s  purchase.  192,  193,  195,  196; 
forays  on,  268,  269,  374. 

Kercheval,  Samuel,  History  of  Valley  of 
Virginia,  49,  87,  88. 

Kersey,  Lieut.  [Kearsey,  John],  builds 
at  Columbia,  390,  391. 

Kettle,  Richard,  chases  Indians,  311. 

Killbuck,  Delaware  chief,  88. 

Kimberlain,  Jacob,  escapes  from  Indi¬ 
ans,  99. 

King,  Thomas,  Iroquois  chief,  58. 

Kinnikinnick  creek,  174,  176. 

Kiskepila.  See  Little  Eagle. 

Kittanning,  in  Hand’s  expedition,  210. 

Knight,  John,  captured  by  Indians,  332- 
335,  338. 

Knoxville,  Tenn.,  60. 

Kuhn,  Abraham,  Wyandot  chief,  97. 

Kuydendall,  Capt.,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
182. 

Lackey,  Thomas,  warns  settlers,  286. 

Lake  Cayuga,  early  Indians  on,  46. 

Lake  Erie,  Catawbas  on,  47. 

Lake  Michigan,  early  French  on,  6. 

Lancaster,  Pa.,  massacre  of  Canestogas, 
104,  105;  treaty  of,  195. 

Land  claims,  Loyal  Co.,  49,  58;  Lord  Fair¬ 
fax,  50,  51;  Borden  manor,  50-53;  Ohio 
Co.,  64,  65,  67,  74,  77,  147;  Pittsylvania, 
145;  Virginia  military  warrants,  145; 
Transylvania  Co.,  191-196;  Connolly, 
145,  146;  early  Kentucky  jobbers,  196, 
197;  “tomahawk  rights^”  126;  Indian 
attitude  toward,  140,  141;  commission¬ 
ers  killed  by  Indians,  311;  post-Revo- 
lutionary  military  warrants,  365,  366; 
Ohio  Co.  of  Associates,  389,  390;  Scioto 
Co.,  60;  Miami  purchase,  390-392. 

Lane,  Lalph,  attempts  western  explora¬ 
tion,  64. 

Langlade,  Charles,  at  Braddock’s  defeat, 

68. 

L’Anguille,  Miami  village,  407. 

La  Salle,  Chevalier,  explorations  of,  6, 
7;  at  falls  of  Ohio,  64. 

Lanson  run,  421. 

-  Laurel  hills,  126;  explored  by  Walden, 
60;  by  Cresap,  77;  by  Boone,  192. 

Lawless,  Henry,  explores  Kentucky, 
81. 

Leading  creek,  419;  forays  on,  311,  428. 

Lederer,  John,  on  Blue  ridge,  64. 

Lee,  Arthur,  treaty  commissioner,  366, 
388. 

Lee  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Leet,  Maj.,  on  Sandusky  campaign,  330. 

Leffler,  George,  early  settler,  125;  defends 
Rice’s  fort,  362. 

Leffler,  Jacob,  Jr.,  defends  Rice’s  fort, 
362. 

Legget,  George,  lost  in  Indian  foray,  399. 

Le  Movne,  Father,  discovers  Alleghany, 
64. 

Lewis, - ,  escapes  from  Indians,  422. 

Lewis,  Andrew,  49,  50;  explores  Green¬ 
brier,  57,  58;  with  Braddoek,  66;  in 
Forbes’s  campaign,  68-73;  in  Sandy- 
creek  vovage,  81-83,  86;  in  Dunmore's 
war,  151,  i 64-1 68, 170, 174-176, 178-183,  190; 
Journal,  81,  82. 

Lewis,  Charles,  with  Braddoek,  66;  in 
Pontiac’s  war,  97;  in  Dunmore’s  war, 


151,  159,  166-168;  death,  168-171;  Jour¬ 
nal,  69. 

Lewis  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),  56, 
63. 

Lewis,  John  (1).  father  of  Andrew,  53, 
62;  explores  Greenbrier,  57,  58;  with 
Braddoek,  66;  settles  Augusta,  66; 
sketch,  49,  50. 

Lewis,  John  12),  scalped  by  Indians,  102. 
Lewis,  John,  Jr.,  with  Braddoek,  66. 
Lewis,  Margaret,  wife  of  John  (1),  53. 
Lewis,  Samuel,  defends  Greenbrier,  244, 
245. 

Lewis,  Thomas,  son  of  John  (1),  50;  with 
Braddoek,  66. 

Lewis,  William,  with  Braddoek,  66. 
Lewisburgh,  W.  Va.,  founded,  164,  165, 
244;  massacre  near,  172,  173. 

Lexington,  Ky.,  271;  founded,  52,  274; 
threatened  by  Bird,  296-29%  305;  dur¬ 
ing  Caldwell’s  invasion,  349,  351. 
Licking  river,  Thompson’s  surveys,  146; 
early  settlements  on,  274;  Boone’s  cap¬ 
tivity,  265,  266;  Bird  s  invasion,  295, 
297,  298;  in  Piqua  campaign,  305,  307;  in 
Caldwell’s  invasion,  348;  other  Revo¬ 
lutionary  happenings,  271,  352. 
Lichtenau,  Moravian  village,  314. 
Limestone  creek,  348. 

Lincoln,  Benjamin,  peace  commissioner, 

412. 

Linebaek, - ,  Relation,  324. 

Linn,  John,  in  defense  of  Wheeling,  356, 

358. 

Linn,  William,  at  Foreman’s  defeat,  229, 
230. 

Linsev,  Joseph,  settles  onYoughiogheny, 
117,  118 

Little  Carpenter,  a  Cherokee,  192. 

Little  Eagle,  Mingo  chief,  78.  79. 

Little  Kenawha  river,  Bulltown  massa¬ 
cre,  136-138;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  165, 
179;  during  Revolution,  232,  284;  mis¬ 
cellaneous  forays  on,  376,  397,  400,  411, 

413. 

Little  Meadow  creek,  166. 

Little  Meadows,  77. 

Little  Miami  river,  Shawnees  on,  271; 
Boone  on,  266;  during  Revolution,  273; 
Symmes’s  land-grant  on,  390-392;  in 
Harmar’s  campaign,  SOS’,  in  St.  Clair’s 
campaign,  400-405. 

Little  Saluda  river,  Holston  on,  59. 

Little  Sewell  mountain,  origin  of  name, 
57. 

Lochaber,  treaty  of,  195. 

Lockard,  Patrick,  with  Braddoek,  66. 
Lockport,  O.,  314. 

Lockridge, - ,  at  Point  Pleasant,  175. 

Locust  Grove,  Ky.,  254. 

Logan,  Ann,  adventure  with  Indians, 

203. 

Logan,  Benjamin,  builds  Logan’s  sta¬ 
tion,  197;  in  seige  thereof,  200,  202-207; 
in  Bowman’s  campaign,  271-273;  in 
Piqua  campaign,  306;  at  Blue  Licks, 
351-354;  in  Shawnee  campaign,  355; 
in  Miami  campaign,  386-388;  sketch, 

204. 

Logan  county,  O.,  153. 

Logan  county,  W  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 
Logan,  Mingo  chief,  massacre  of  family, 
125,  134,  138,  142,  148-150,  184;  attacks 
whites,  155-158;  speech  of,  184. 

Logan’s  station,  Ky.,  founded,  197;  rep¬ 
resented  in  Transylvania  legislature, 
193;  attacked  by  Indians,  200,^202-208. 
Logstown,  old  trading  post,  413;  Dyer’s 
captivity,  87 ;  treaty  at,  195. 

Long, - ,  assists  Mrs.  Cunningham,  372. 

“Long  Knives,”  origin  of  term,  79,  80; 
use  of,  183,  186,  207,  406. 


440 


Index. 


Looney’s  creek,  89;  Pringle  settlement 
on,  il8. 

Losantiville,  origin  of  name,  391,  392. 
See  Cincinnati. 

Loss  creek,  218. 

Lost  creek,  foray  on,  383. 

Louisa  Company,  settles  Kentucky,  191. 

Louisiana,  founded,  7;  French  in,  64; 
Spanish  in,  130. 

Louisville,  271,  357;  Iroquois  defeat 
Shawnees,  194,  195;  La  Salle  at,  64; 
Findlay  at,  143;  Boone  at,  152;  survey¬ 
ed  by  Bullitt,  145;  founded  by  Clark, 
146,  253,  254;  threatened  by  Bird,  294; 
in  Clark’s  Wabash  expedition,  386; 
Literary  News-Letter,  193. 

Love,  Philip,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  170. 

Lowdermilk,  Will  H.,  History  of  Cumber¬ 
land,  77. 

Lowther,  Jonathan,  killed  by  Indians, 
241. 

Lowther,  Robert,  early  settler,  127. 

Lowther,  William,  militia  officer,  127, 
128;  chases  Indians,  312,  313,  376,  377. 

Loyal  Company,  land  grant  on  Green¬ 
brier,  49,  58. 

Loyal  Hanna  river,  in  Forbes’s  cam¬ 
paign.  73;  foray  on,  108. 

Ludlow,  Israel,  partner  of  Denman,  391. 

Luttsell,  John,  of  Transylvania  Co.,  191, 
193. 

Lynn,  Jane,  marries  Hugh  Paul  and 
David  Stuart,  53,  54. 

Lynn,  Margaret,  wife  of  John  Lewis,  49. 

Lvtle,  vvilliam,  on  Mad-river  campaign, 

387,  388. 

McBride,  Capt.,  killed  at  Blue  Licks, 

353. 

McClannahan,  Robert,  killed  at  Point 
Pleasant,  171. 

McClelland,  John,  on  Sandusky  cam¬ 
paign,  328,  336. 

McClelland’s  station,  Ky.,  attacked  by 
Indians,  200. 

McClure,  Mrs.,  captured  by  Indians,  385. 

McCollum,  John,  in  New-river  foray,  99. 

McCulloch,  William,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
180. 

McCullough  family,  early  settlers,  125. 

McCullough,  Maj.,  at  seige  of  Wheeling, 
228. 

McCullough,  Miss,  at  seige  of  Wheeling, 
356. 

McDonald,  Angus,  Wapat.omiea  expedi¬ 
tion,  138,  153-155,  164, 165;  in  Dunmore’s 
war,  220. 

McDowell,  Ephraim,  early  settler,  52. 

McDowell,  James,  52. 

McDowell,  John,  early  settler,  53;  killed 
by  Indians,  49,  51,  52,  66. 

McDowell,  Thomas,  killed  by  Indians, 
196. 

McFeeters,  Jeremiah,  killed  by  Indians, 
196. 

McGary,  Maj.,  of  St.  Asaph’s,  205;  at  Blue 
Licks,  352;  in  Mad-river  campaign, 

388. 

McGary,  Mrs.,  settles  in  Kentucky,  197. 

McGuire,  Maj.,  wounds  an  Indian,  381. 

Mclntire,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  397, 
398. 

McIntosh,  Lachlan,  commandant  at 
Pittsburgh,  210,  237,  300;  expedition 
against  Sandusky,  252,  255,  256,  261,  264, 
265 

Mclver,  Hugh,  killed  by  Indians,  292. 

Mack,  John,  family  massacred  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  382. 

McKee,  Alexander,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
189-  during  Revolution,  254,  295,  347; 
ransoms  Mrs.  Cunningham,  372;  en¬ 


courages  forays,  388;  property  de¬ 
stroyed  by  Wayne,  426. 

McKee,  Capt.,  commandant  at  Ft.  Ran¬ 
dolph,  241-243. 

McKee,  William,  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

McKenley’s  run,  410. 

Mackey,  John,  early  settler,  49,  50,  66. 

Mackinaw,  in  Teeurnseh’s  conspiracy, 
36;  Chippewa  villages  near,  46. 

McKinley,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  333. 

McKnigtit,  Charles,  Our  Western  Border, 
373. 

McLain,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  287. 

McMahon,  Maj.,  killed  by  Indians,  423. 

McMahon’s  creek,  162. 

McMechen.  James,  a  Wheeling  settler, 
222,  228,  230. 

McMurtry,  Capt.,  killed  by  Indians,  395. 

McNutt,  John,  in  Sandy-creek  voyage, 
81,  85,  86;  in  Revolution,  86;  Journal, 
86. 

McWhorter,  Henry,  early  settler,  287, 
288,  410. 

McWhorter,  J.  M.,  288. 

McWhorter,  L.  V.,  cited.  119,  137,  278,  287, 
340,  368-371.  376.  377,  409-411,  421. 

McWhorter,  Mansfield,  410. 

Mad  river,  124;  Logan’s  campaign  to, 
386-388. 

Mahoning  creek,  210. 

Manear,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  311. 

Mann’s  lick,  152. 

Marietta,  O.,  the  Scioto  purchase,  60; 
settled  by  Ohio  Co.,  389,  390;  cattle  sup¬ 
ply  attacked,  399,  400. 

Marion  county.  W.  Va.,  279. 

Marks,  Lieut.,  on  Wayne’s  campaign, 
424. 

Marquette,  Father  James,  discovers  Mis¬ 
sissippi,  5,  6. 

Marshall,  James,  militia  officer.  327,  328. 

Martin, - ,  settles  on  Greenbrier,  57. 

Martin, - ,  in  seige  of  St.  Asaph’s,  204. 

Martin,  Gov.,  opposes  Henderson’s  pur¬ 
chase,  192,  193. 

Martin,  Jesse,  123. 

Martin,  William,  123. 

Martin’s  station,  Ky.,  sacked  by  Bird, 
296,  298;  defended.  350. 

Martinsville,  Va.,  60. 

Maryland,  emigrants  from,  125. 

Mason  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Mason,  Samuel,  at  seige  of  Wheeling, 
221-224,  228. 

Massachusetts,  relinquishes  Western 
land  claim,  389. 

Massawomee  Indians,  in  West  Virginia, 
44. 

Matthew,  John,  early  settler,  52. 

Matthews,  George,  attacked  by  Indians, 
90,  91;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  169,  170,  174. 

Matthews,  John,  with  Braddock,  66. 

Matthews,  Maj.,  52. 

Maumee  Indians,  374. 

Maumee  river,  Mrs.  Cunningham  on, 
372;  in  Harmar’s  campaign,  393;  in 
St.  Clair’s  campaign,  401;  peace  com¬ 
missioners  sent  to,  412;  in  Wayne's 
campaign,  424-426. 

Maury,  Thomas,  killed  by  Indians,  91. 

Maxwell,  Audlev,  attacked  by  Indians, 
90,  91. 

Maxwell,  William,  attacked  by  Indians, 
90,  91. 

May,  John,  385. 

Maysville,  Ky.,  348. 

Meadow  river,  242. 

Merrill,  John,  wounded  by  Indians,  405, 
406. 

Merrill,  Mrs.  John,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  406. 

Myers,  R.  C.  V.,  Life  of  Wetzel,  161. 


Index. 


441 


Miami  Indians,  early  strength  of,  46; 
Renick  captivity,  91;  operate  against 
Clark,  252;  in  Harmar’s  campaign,  393- 
395;  in  St.  Clair’s  campaign,  400-405; 
raided  by  Scott,  407,  408. 

Miami  river,  Indians  on,  46;  in  Renick 
captivity,  91;  in  Clark’s  campaign,  254; 
during  Revolution,  295,  299,  355;  arrival 
of  peace  news,  365;  military  land- 
claims  on,  366;  Logan’s  campaign  on, 
386;  treaty  of  Ft.  Finney,  388;  Svmmes’s 
land-grant  on,  390,  392;  in  Harmar’s 
campaign,  393-395;  in  St.  Clair’s  cam¬ 
paign.  400-405. 

Michael,  Lieut.,  on  Wayne’s  campaign, 
424. 

Michillimackinac,  255.  See  Mackinaw. 

Middle  Island  creek,  foray  on,  381,  398. 

Miller,  Jacob,  killed  by  Indians  (Dela¬ 
ware  river),  102. 

Miller,  Jacob,  killed  by  Indians  (Ft.  Co¬ 
burn),  249. 

Miller,  Jacob,  defends  Ft.  Rice,  361,  362. 

Mills,  Thomas,  killed  by  Indians,  338, 
339. 

Minear,  John,  early  settler,  126. 

Mingo  Bottom,  Indian  village  at,  78;  in 
Moravian  expedition,  320;  in  Craw¬ 
ford’s  campaign,  328,  329. 

Mingo  Indians,  on  Upper  Ohio,  45;  Deck- 
er’s-creek  massacre,  77-79;  New-river 
foray, 96-99:  claim  Kentucky,  142;  mas¬ 
sacre  of  Logan’s  family,  134,  138,  142, 
148-150;  Logan’s  forays,  155-158;  Dun- 
more’s  war  generally,  172,  179,  184,  185, 
253;  during  Revolution,  219,  262,  308, 
336,  347. 

Mingo  Junction,  O.  See  Mingo  Bottom. 

Missions  among  Kentucky  and  Tennes¬ 
see  Indians,  106.  See  Catholics  and 
Moravians. 

Missasago  Indians,  in  St.  Clair’s  cam¬ 
paign,  404. 

Mississippi  river,  255;  territorial  claims 
in  basin  of,  5;  French  on,  5-7,  63;  Span¬ 
ish  on,  7,  8, 130,  254:  Sailing  on,  49;  Hol- 
ston  on,  59;  Chickasaws  on,  195;  in  Te- 
cumseh’s  conspiracy,  36;  Cornstalk’s 
knowledge  of,  211. 

Mitchell,  John,  122. 

Moffett,  Capt.,  ambuscaded,  97. 

Mohican  Indians,  in  King  Philip’s  war, 
32,  33. 

Moluntha,  Shawnee  chief,  268. 

Monday, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  293. 

Monongahela  river,  73-75;  early  Indians 
on,  45,  47;  French  on,  65;  Braddock’s 
defeat,  67-69,  72;  Grant’s  defeat,  71; 
Gist’s  settlement,  74;  Pringle  settle¬ 
ment,  117,  118,  122;  other  early  settle¬ 
ments,  77,  117,  123,  125,  190;  in  Dun- 
more’s  war,  135,  141,  146,  150,  151,  161; 
during  Revolution,  221,  222,  237,  271, 
309;  militia  from,  320;  forays  on,  381, 
414,  419. 

Monongalia  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56,  63-;  during  Revolution,  311;  forays 
in,  344,  374,  398,  399. 

Monroe  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
55,  56. 

Montgomery,  Col.,  companion  of  Clark, 
254. 

Montgomery  countv,  Va.,  census  (1830), 
55,  56. 

Montgomery.  John,  in  Sandy-creek  voy¬ 
age,  81. 

Monteur, - .  family  massacred,  318. 

Monticello,  Va.,  253. 

Montour.  John,  Delaware  chief,  179. 

Mooney,  James,  adventure  with  Indians, 
168;  companion  of  Boone.  143. 

Moore, - ,  attacked  by  Indians,  385. 


Moore,  Andrew,  early  settler,  52;  in  Dun- 
more’s  war,  174. 

Moore,  James,  Sr.,  killed  by  Indians,  373. 

Moore,  James,  Jr.,  captured  by  Indians, 

374. 

Moore,  Jane,  burned  by  Indians,  374. 

Moore,  Mrs.  John,  burned  by  Indians, 
373,  374. 

Moore,  Lieut.,  killed  by  Indians,  241. 

Moore,  Mary,  captured  by  Indians,  374. 

Moorefield,*W.  Va.,  founded,  124. 

Moorehead,  - ,  Youghiogheny  settler, 

114. 

Moravians,  missionaries  and  Indians, 
36,  412;  give  information  to  Hand,  219; 
visited  by  Brodhead,  301,  302;  villages 
sacked  by  whites,  313-327,  340;  histor¬ 
ical  sketch,  314. 

Morgan  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Morgan,  Daniel,  276. 

Morgan,  David,  early  settler,  123;  adven¬ 
ture  with  Indians,  276-279. 

Morgan,  George,  Indian  agent,  219,  224. 

Morgan,  Greenwood  S.,  279. 

Morgan,  Levi,  adventures  with  Indians, 

375,  376,  417,  418. 

Morgan,  Sarah  and  Stephen,  adventure 
with  Indians,  276-279. 

Morgan,  William,  early  settler,  126;  es¬ 
capes  from  Indians,  240. 

Morgantown,  Pa.,  75;  founded,  123;  foray 
near,  248,  249. 

Morlin,  Thomas,  early  peddler,  47,  48. 

Morrow,  William,  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
169, 171. 

Mound-building,  by  early  Indians,  39-43. 

Moundsville,  W.  Va.,  “big  mouud”  at, 
40;  settled,  125,  230. 

Mount  Braddock,  Pa.,  settled,  123. 

Muddy  creek,  123;  first  settled,  58;  Clen- 
dennin  massacre,  93-95:  miscellaneous 
forays  on,  159,  161,  172, 173,  293,  345. 

Mulhollin,  Polly.  See  Mary  Greenlee. 

Munsee  Indian's,  on  Susquehanna,  46; 
raided  by  Brodhead,  301;  during  Revo¬ 
lution,  347. 

Munseka,  Shawnee  chief,  266. 

Murphey,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  238. 

Murphy,  Samuel,  183. 

Muscle  shoals,  59. 

Muskingum  river,  early  Indians  on,  46; 
Gist  on,  79;  Bouquet’s  expedition,  108; 
Indian  atrocities  on,  150,  396;  Wapa- 
tomica  campaign,  153-155;  Moravian 
villages  on,  219;  during  Revolution, 
300-305,  314,  320,  328;  land  cession  by 
Indians,  366;  Ohio  Co.’s  grant,  389*; 
Waterford  founded,  392. 

Nain  Indians,  threatened  by  Paxtons, 
105. 

Nanny’s  run,  127. 

Natchez,  Holston  at,  59. 

Narragansett  Indians,  war  with  Puri¬ 
tans,  31-33. 

Narvaez,  Pamphilio  de,  in  Florida,  7. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  115. 

Neal,  Henry,  killed  by  Indians,  411,  412. 

Neal,  James,  slave  stolen  from,  400. 

Neely,  Alexander,  companion  of  Boone, 
143,  144. 

Nelson, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Nelson  county,  Va.,  foray  in,  405,  406. 

Nelsonville,  O  ,  183. 

Nemaeolin,  Delaware  Indian,  77. 

Nemacolin’s  path.  See  Braddock’s  road 

Nequetank  Indians,  threatened  by  Pax* 
tons,  105. 

Newcomerstown,  O.,  314. 

New  Englanders,  on  Greenbrier,  57. 

New  France.  See  French. 

New  Inverness,  Ga.,  founded,  237. 


442 


Index. 


New  Martinsville,  O.,  417. 

New  Orleans,  founded,  7;  Spanish  at, 
130. 

New  Philadelphia,  O.,  261,  314. 

Newport,  Christopher,  attempts  western 
exploration,  64. 

New  river,  first  settlements  on,  59;  in 
Sandy-creek  voyage,  82;  Delaware  and 
Mingo  foray,  96-99.  See  Great  Ka¬ 
nawha. 

New  Schonbrunn,  Moravian  village,  314, 
325,  326. 

New  York,  Delawares  in,  136;  relin¬ 
quishes  Western  land  claim,  389. 

Nicholas  county,  W.  Va.,  96;  census 
(1830),  56. 

Nicholson, - ,  interpreter,  184. 

Nicholson,  Thomas,  in  Dunmore’s  cam¬ 
paign,  153. 

North  Bend,  O..  founded,  392. 

North  Branch,  63. 

North  Carolina,  Cherokees  in,  46;  Boone 
in,  143,  144,  266;  Henderson  family  in, 
191-193;  emigration  from,  348,  384. 

North  river,  early  settlement  on,  52. 

Northwest  Territory,  early  tribes  in,  45; 
cession  of  land  claims  in,  131;  ordi¬ 
nance  of  1787,  389;  St.  Clair’s  arrival, 
391,  392;  first  settlements  in,  392,  393. 

Norton,  Thomas,  Journal  of  Sandy-creek 
voyage,  81,  82. 

Nutter,  John,  early  settler,  127. 

O’Brien,  Adam,  414. 

Ochiltree,  Alexander,  killed  by  Indians, 
245. 

Oghkwaga,  Delaware  village,  136. 

Ogle,  Joseph,  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  221- 
224.  228;  in  Foreman’s  defeat,  230. 

Oglethorpe,  James,  attitude  toward 
slavery,  10. 

Ohio  (state),  Indian  mounds  in,  41,  42; 
first  settlements  in,  392,  393. 

Ohio  Company,  relations  with  French, 
45;  open  Ohio  valley  to  settlement, 
64,  65,  67,  74,  77,  147. 

Ohio  Company  of  Associates,  settles 
Marietta,  389,  390. 

Ohio  county.  W  Va.,  census  (1830),  55, 
56,  63;  during  Revolution,  311. 

Ohio  river,  36,  40,  55,  78,  115,  117,  121,  123, 
125;  early  Indians  on,  45-47;  Sailing  on, 
49;  Holston  on,  59;  as  a  war  trail,  75; 
first  English  occupation,  63,  64;  French 
and  English  rivalry  for,  64-74,  95; 
Decker  captivity,  78,  79;  in  Sandy-creek 
voyage,  83-85;  Renick  captivity,  91; 
Hannah  Dennis’s  escape,  92,  93;  char¬ 
acter  of  early  settlers  on,  130,  131;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  134,  138,  145,  146,  148, 
149,  151-153,  156,  162-165,  167-175,  179, 183; 
in  Henderson’s  purchase,  192,  193; 
Shawnees  on,  194,  195,209,  211,  216,219; 
during  Revolution,  219,  220,  227,  230, 
254,  257,  264,  266,  267,  271,  273,  285,  286, 
294,  295,  297-300,  305,  320,  335,  347,  355, 
360,  363,  384.  389,  390,  399,  411,  415,  417; 
after  Revolution,  367,  372,  374,  380,  381,  . 
383;  as  a  race  boundary,  412. 

Old  Town  creek,  168,  170,  172;  Shawnee 
village  at,  85 

Oneco,  chief  of  Mohicans,  32. 

Orange  county,  Va.,  55;  early  settlement 
of,  55,  66. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  389. 

Orme,  Robert,  with  Braddock,  68. 

Osage  Indians,  stature  of,  29. 

Ottawa  Indians,  early  strength  of,  46; 
during  Revolution,  347;  at  Ft.  McIn¬ 
tosh  treaty,  366,  388. 

Ottawa  river,  early  French  on,  5. 

Ouisconsin  river.  See  Wisconsin  river. 


Owens,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  247. 

Owens,  John,  Sr.,  killed  by  Indians,  290. 

Owens,  John,  Jr.,  attacked  by  Indians, 
290,  343,  344. 

Owens,  Owen,  attacked  by  Indians.  290. 

Ox,  Susan,  captured  by  Indians,  161 

Pack, - ,  trapper,  96. 

Paint  creek,  Boone’s  expedition  to,  267, 
268;  Shawnees  on,  374;  Waggoner  on, 
410. 

Parsons,  James,  early  settler,  126. 

Parsons,  Samuel  H.,  treaty  commission¬ 
er,  388. 

Patterson,  Robert,  founds  Lexington, 
Ky.,  274;  partner  of  Denman,  391;  at 
battle  of  Blue  Licks,  353. 

Patton,  Elizabeth,  marries  John  Preston, 
51. 

Patton,  James,  early  settler  of  Catawba, 
51,  52,  68. 

Patton,  John  W.,  127. 

Pattonsburgh,  Va.,  51. 

Paul,  Audley,  son  of  Hugh,  53;  at  Ft. 
Redstone,  77,  78;  in  Sandy-creek  voy¬ 
age,  81,  83,  85;  in  James-river  foray, 
91;  in  New-river  foray,  97-99;  in  Dun¬ 
more’s  war,  169. 

Paul,  Hugh,  53. 

Paul,  Polly,  marries  Gov.  Matthews,  53. 

Pauling,  Henry,  militia  officer,  207. 

Pauli,  James,  at  Redstone,  80. 

Paxton  boys,  kill  Cauestoga  Indians, 
104,  105. 

Paynter,  Elias,  killed  by  Indians,  341. 

Pekillon,  Delaware  chief,  303,  304. 

Pendleton  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56;  Seybert  massacre,  87-89. 

Penn,  William,  124. 

Pennsylvania,  boundary  dispute  with 
Virginia,  74;  Western '  settlements  in, 
74,  75,  123-125,  143;  fur  irade  of,  101; 
Paxton  boys,  104,  105;  “  Black-boys” 
uprising,  109-116;  Findlay’s  adven¬ 
tures,  143;  Records,  58;  Archives ,  323. 

Pentecost,  Dorsey,  323. 

Peoria  Indians,  claim  Kentucky,  142. 

Perry,  Thomas,  killed  by  Indians,  89. 

Perrysburgh,  O.,  372. 

Peter,  Captain,  Indian  chief,  135. 

Petro,  Leonard,  captured  by  Indians, 
232,  233. 

Peyton,  John  L.,  History  of  Augusta 
county,  53,  246. 

Philadelphia,  105,  109, 124. 

Philip,  chief  of  Narragansetts,  31,  32. 

Phillips,  Capt.,  ambuscaded,  97. 

Phoebe’s  Falls,  W.  Va.2  settled,  52. 

Pickaway  plains,  Indian  treaty  at,  183- 
186. 

Pickering,  Timothy,  peace  commission¬ 
er,  412. 

Pike  run,  Indian  foray  on,  283. 

Pindall,  Rachel,  chased  by  Indians,  344. 

Pindall,  Thomas,  attacked  by  Indians, 
344. 

Piomingo,  Chickasaw  chief,  405. 

)  Pipe,  Delaware  chief,  333. 

Pipe,  Wyandot  chief,  316. 

Pipe  creek,  massacre  of  Indians  at,  134, 
142,  148. 

Piqua,  Shawnee  village,  273;  Clark  at¬ 
tacks,  305-309. 

Pitman, - ,  trapper,  96. 

Pittsburg,  117,  120;  French  fort  at,  45; 
treaties  at.  66;  Braddock’s  defeat,  68, 
69,  106;  in  Forbes’s  campaign,  69-73,  77, 
79,  80;  Connolly  at,  74;  Dyer’s  escape, 
87;  in  Bouquet’s  expedition,  107-109, 
173;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  134,  141,  142,  145, 
148, 150, 165, 167, 177-179,  181, 182;  “Black- 
boys”  uprising,  109;  asked  to  aid  Ken- 


Index. 


i 


443 


tuekv,  205;  during:  Revolution,  220,  221, 
224,  230,  254, 256,  262.  283,  318,  321-323,  335, 
357,  362;  arrival  of  peace  news,  365; 
Hand’s  administration,  210,  211,  214, 
216,  219;  McIntosh’s  administration, 
210,  237;  warned  by  Moravians,  315, 
317;  Brodhead’s  expedition,  300,  301, 
303,  304,  316. 

Pittsylvania,  proposed  colony  of,  145. 

Pleasant  creek,  118. 

Pocahontascounty,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56. 

Poe,  Adam,  adventure  with  Indians,  362- 
364. 

Poe,  Andrew,  adventure  with  Indians, 
363,  364. 

Point  Pleasant,  W.  Va.,  battle  of,  59,  60, 
66,  143,  152,  165-178,  180,  182,  185-187,  189, 
190,  208;  Ft.  Randolph  at.  173,  291;  sur¬ 
render  of  Cornstalk  at,  173,  209,  211-216; 
during  Revolution,  237,  241-243. 

Pointer,  Dick,  fights  Indians,  243. 

Pollens,  Henry,  fur  trader,  109. 

Pompey  (negro),  friend  of  Indians,  268. 

Pontiac,  uprising  of,  73,  141, 172. 

Poole,  William  F.,  on  Clark’s  campaign, 
254. 

Port  Washington,  O.,  301,  314. 

Portsmouth,  O.,  old  Shawnee  town  at,  92. 

Post,  Charles  F.,  Moravian  missionary, 
301. 

Potomac  river,  55;  fur  trade  on,  77;  Sey- 
bert  massacre,  87-89. 

Pottawattomie  Indians,  early  strength 
of,  46;  during  Revolution,  347. 

Powell,  Richard,  sons  captured  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  280,  281. 

Powell’s  valley,  60;  Walden  in,  60;  at¬ 
tack  on  Boones,  144,  145;  Henderson’s 
grant,  193. 

Power,  Major,  shot  at,  366. 

Powers,  John,  early  settler,  126. 

Powers,  William,  122. 

Presbyterians,  50,  54,  57, 168. 

Presque  Isle,  65. 

Preston  county,  W.  Va.,  280;  census  (1830), 
56,  63. 

Preston,  James  Patton,  governor  of  Vir¬ 
ginia,  51. 

Preston,  John,  marries  Elizabeth  Pat¬ 
ton,  51. 

Preston,  William,  militia  officer,  51;  set¬ 
tles  on  Holston,  59;  in  Sandy-creek 
voyage,  81,  83;  surveyor,  145,  146;  in 
Dun  more’s  war,  152,  165;  Journal,  82; 
Register  of  Indian  Depredations,  hi,  75, 
87,  90. 

Price,  Maj.,  on  Wayne’s  campaign,  425. 

Price’s  settlement,  Ky.,  200. 

Pricket, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  245. 

Pricket,  Josiah,  killed  by  Indians,  161. 

Pricket’s  creek,  151. 

Prince  William  county,  Va.,  71. 

Pringle,  Charity,  119. 

Pringle,  John  and  Samuel,  adventures 
of,  117-122. 

Prior,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  292. 

Pritchet,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  243. 

Province,  John,  early  settler,  123. 

Province,  Mrs.,  buries  Bald  Eagle,  136. 

Pryor.  John,  scouting  adventure,  242, 243. 

Purgatory  creek,  89,  91. 

Purgatory  mountain,  89. 

Putnam,  Rufus,  heads  Marietta  colo¬ 
nists,  389, 390;  peace  commissioner,  412. 

Quakers,  124,  240. 

Quebec,  founded  by  Champlain,  4,  5. 

Raccoon  creek,  299. 

Radcliff.  Daniel,  killed  by  Indians.  367. 

Radcliff,  John,  early  settler,  121,  122. 


Radcliff,  Stephen,  attacked  by  Indians, 
311. 

Radcliff,  William,  early  settler,  121,  122. 

Ralston,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  287. 

Ranck,  Geo.  W.,  274. 

Randolph,  Beverly,  peace  commissioner, 
412. 

Randolph  county.  W.  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56,  63;  settled,  74. 

Ray,  James,  adventures  with  Indians, 

201. 

Ray,  William,  killed  by  Indians,  201. 

Read,  John,  finds  Davisson,  283. 

Red  Hawk,  Shawnee  warrior,  209. 

Red  river,  De  Soto  on,  8. 

Redhawk,  Delaware  chief,  172. 

Redstone  (Brownsville,  Pa.),  first  set¬ 
tled,  77-80,  123,  216;  De  Villiers  at,  74* 
Decker  massacre,  77,  78;  in  Dunmore’s 
war,  134,  141,  150;  tory  trials,  231,  232: 
militia  from,  271;  emigrants  from,  390, 
392;  road  to  Marietta,  399. 

Reece, - ,  attacked  by  Indians,  239. 

Reece,  Miss,  wounded  by  Indian,  239. 

Renick  family,  attacked  by  Indians,  89- 
91. 

Reynolds, - ,  at  seige  of  Bryant’s  sta¬ 

tion,  350,  351,353,  354. 

Rice,  Daniel,  attacked  by  Indians,  361. 

Rich  mountain,  126. 

Richards,  Arnold  and  Paul,  killed  by 
Indians,  345. 

Richards,  Conrad,  attacked  by  Indians, 
251,  252. 

Richmond,  Va.,  62. 

Riffle, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Roanoke  county,  Va.,  61;  Sailing  in,  49. 

Roanoke  river, *70;  explored,  48;  in  New- 
river  foray,  96,  99;  settlements  raided 
by  Shawnees,  61,  81,  82. 

Robertson,  Dr.,  on  origin  of  Indians,  25. 

Robertson  family,  killed  by  Indians,  158. 

Robertson,  James,  at  Watauga  treaty, 
192. 

Robinson,  - ,  explorer,  124;  killed  by 

Indians,  161. 

Robinson,  Mrs.  Edward,  discovers  Hull’s 
body,  383. 

Robinson,  Maj.,  searches  for  Mrs.  Cun¬ 
ningham,  370. 

Robinson,  William,  captured  by  Indians, 
156-158. 

Rockbridge  county,  Va.,  Sailing  in,  48* 
district  of  Augusta,  49;  first  settled,  53; 
census  (1830),  56;  militia  of,  66,  174,  211, 
212;  massacre  in,  172. 

Rockcastle  river,  Boone  on,  143,  192. 

Rockford,  Pa.,  210. 

Rockingham  countv,  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56,  66. 

Rogers,  John,  on  Clark’s  campaign,  258, 
259. 

Rogers,  Joseph,  killed  by  Indians,  308. 

Ronev,  Alexander,  killed  by  Indians,. 
311, 312. 

Roney,  Mrs.  Alexander,  captured  by  In¬ 
dians,  311,  312. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  Winning  of  the 
West,  80,  130,  183,  184, 193,  261,  386. 

Rooting  creek,  217. 

Ross,  Tavenor,  renegade,  168. 

Rowell,  Daniel,  adventure  with  Indians, 
411. 

Royall,  Ann,  Sketches,  57,  95. 

Ruddell,  Isaac,  arrival  in  Kentucky,  207; 
defeated  by  Bird,  295-297,  350. 

Rule,  Henry,  early  settler,  122. 

Runner,  Elijah,  murders  Bald  Eagle, 
135. 

Runyan.  John,  daughter  killed  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  419. 

Rush  run,  foray  on,  380,  381. 


444 


Index. 


Russell  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Russell,  William,  treaty  commissioner, 
66;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  152,  167,  170, 
176. 

Ryan,  John,  kills  Indians,  135. 

Ryswick,  treaty  of,  195. 

St.  Asaph’s.  See  Logan’s  station. 

St.  Clair,  Arthur,  arrives  at  Ft.  Washing¬ 
ton,  391,  392;  names  Cincinnati,  391, 
392;  reports  on  Harmar’s  campaign, 
395;  campaign  against  Miamis,  400-405, 
407,  408,  413;  resigns  command,  412. 

St.  Clairsville,  O.,  338. 

St.  Joseph  river,  in  Harmar’s  campaign, 
393,  395. 

St.  Lawrence  river,  Champlain  on,  5. 

St.  Louis,  attacked  by  English,  254. 

St.  Mary’s  river,  in  Harmar’s  campaign, 
393. 

Salem,  Va.,  Sailing  at,  49;  in  Sandy- 
creek  voyage,  82. 

Salem,  Moravian  village,  301,  302,  314, 
319,  322,  325,  327. 

Salisbury,  N.  C.,  191. 

Sailing,  Henrv,  brother  of  John  Peter, 
48. 

Sailing,  John  Peter,  explorations  of,  47- 
49:  settles  Augusta,  66. 

Sfilt  creek  175 

Salt  licks,  in  Kentucky,  48,  196,  199,  265, 
266;  in  West  Virginia,  265,  361;  in  Ohio, 
267. 

Salt  river,  foray  on,  405. 

Saluda  Old  Town,  S.  C.,  59. 

Sam  (negro),  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  356, 
357. 

Sandusky,  early  Indians  at  46;  in  Dun- 
more’s  war,  187;  McIntosh’s  expedi¬ 
tion  against,  252;  Moravians  at,  316, 
317,  320,  327;  Crawford’s  campaign,  327- 
339;  Irvine’s  expedition,  355;  Cozad 
at,  420. 

“  Sandy-creek  voyage,”  against  Shaw- 
nees,  81-86. 

Sandy  island,  Iroquois  defeat  Shawnees 
at,  194,  195. 

Sandy  river,  foray  on,  373. 

Sapoonie  Indians,  strength  of,  46. 

Sappington,  John,  murders  Indians, 
148,  149. 

Sargent,  Winthrop,  expedition  against 
Ft.  Du  Quesne.  68. 

Savannah,  Ga.,  237. 

Schoolcraft,  Austin,  killed  by  Indians, 
290. 

Schoolcraft,  Henry  A.,  Indian  Tribes ,  40. 

Schoolcraft,  John,  family  massacred, 
284. 

Schoolcraft,  Leonard,  captured  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  282;  turns  renegade,  377-379. 

Schoolcraft,  Matthias,  killed  by  Indians, 
310. 

Schoolcraft,  Michael,  captured  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  310. 

Schoolcraft,  Simon,  attacked  by  Indians, 
288,  289;  captured  by  Indians,  310. 

Schonbrunu,  Moravian  village,  314,  319, 
328,  329. 

Scioto  Company,  settles  Gallipolis,  60. 

Scioto  river,  Shawnees  on,  46;  in  Sandy- 
creek  voyage,  82,  84;  Renick  captiv¬ 
ity,  91;  Hannah  Dennis  on,  92;  in  Pon¬ 
tiac’s  war,  172;  Clendenning  captivity, 
173;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  170,  175,  180, 
182,  183,  185;  during  Revolution,  329; 
military  land-claims  on,  366;  Moore 
captivity,  374;  in  Harmar’s  campaign, 
393. 

Scoppathus,  Mingo  chief,  172. 

Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish,  on  the  border, 
49,54,  101,104,168;  in  Georgia,  237;  in 


Pensylvania,  143;  in  Virginia,  191,  334; 
in  West  Virginia,  373. 

Scott,  Andrew,  at  seige  of  Wheeling, 
356. 

Scott,  Capt.,  killed  by  Indians,  395. 

Scott,  Charles,  campaign  against  Miami 
and  Wabash  Indians,  406^408;  in 
Wayne’s  campaign,  426. 

Scott  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  56. 

Scott,  David,  daughters  killed  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  283. 

Scott,  Jacob,  murders  Bald  Eagle,  135. 

Scott,  Molly,  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  356. 

Seekonk,  Mingo  village,  185. 

Seneca  Indians,  194;  at  Easton  treaty, 
58;  rob  Findlay,  143.  See  Mingo  Indians. 

Senseman,  Gottlob,  Moravian  mission¬ 
ary,  314.  317. 

Severns,  Ebenezer,  on  Bullitt’s  survey, 
146. 

Sevier,  John,  at  Watauga  treaty,  192. 

Sewell,  Stephen,  settles  on  Greenbrier, 
57. 

Sevbert,  Capt.,  defeated  by  Indians, 
87-89. 

Shabosh,  killed  by  whites,  322,  326. 

Shakers,  106. 

Shamokin,  Cayuga  village,  155. 

Shane  manuscripts,  221. 

Shawnee  Indians,  on  Upper  Ohio,  45;  in 
Ohio,  46;  attack  Ro.inoke,  61,  81; 
Sandy-creek  voyage,  82-86;  Seybert 
massacre,  87-89;  foray  on  James,  89- 
91;  villages  on  Scioto,  92;  Stroud  mas¬ 
sacre,  136,  137;  Findlay  among,  143; 
attack  Boones,  145;  in  Dnnmore's  war, 
134,  142,  166,  167,  172,  175-186,  253:  mur¬ 
der  of  Cornstalk,  209-214;  Clendenning 
captivity,  173;  Bouquet’s  expedition, 
173;  in  Kentucky,  194,  195,  201:  raided 
by  Clark,  123,  254;  during  Revolution, 
21*9,  236,  265-268,  271,  273,  333,  334,  336, 
347,  354,  355,  374;  raided  by  Logan,  386- 
388;  at  Ft.  Finney  treaty,  388;  raided  by 
Wayne,  428. 

Shawnee  springs,  201. 

Shelby,  Evans,  settles  on  Holston,  59;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  167,  168,  174. 

Shelby,  Isaac,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  169, 
170,  174;  at  Watauga  treaty,  192. 

Shenandoah  county,  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56;  militia  of,  164.’ 

Shenandoah  valley,  66;  explored,  47; 
early  settlers  in,  46,  50,  190;  Borden 
grant,  50-53;  Fairfax  survey,  334;  fur 
trade  in,  76,  120;  Mrs.  Cunningham  in, 
373. 

Shepherd,  David,  early  settler,  125;  mi¬ 
litia  officer,  221,  226,  228,  230;  in  Brod- 
head’s  expedition,  300,  301;  at  seige  of 
Wheeling,  359;  manuscripts  of,  221. 

Shepherd,  Moses,  124. 

Shesheequon,  Pa.,  Moravian  village, 
319. 

Shikellemus,  Cayuga  chief,  155. 

Shingiss,  Delaware  chief,  45,  190,  194, 
237. 

Shinn,  Benjamin,  attacked  by  Indians, 
247. 

Shinnston,  W.  Va.,  343. 

Shiver,  John,  captured  bv  Indians,  282, 
283. 

Shores,  Thomas,  captured  by  Indians, 

201. 

Short  creek,  settled  on,  125. 

Silver  creek,  196. 

Simcoe,  John  G.,  governor  of  Canada, 
412. 

Simpson’s  creek,  156,  247,  343;  settled  0% 
118,  126;  foray  on,  366. 

Simpson,  John,  adventures  of,  118,  119. 

Sims,  Bernard,  killed  by  Indians,  291. 


Index. 


445 


Sims,  John,  attacked  by  Indians,  291, 

383. 

Six  Nations.  See  Iroquois. 

Skegg’s  creek,  foray  on,  385. 

Skidmore,  John,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  170. 

Skillern,  George,  in  Hand’s  expedition, 

210,  211. 

Slaughter,  Col.,  in  Dunmore’s  war,  167, 
175;  commandant  at  Louisville,  291;  in 
Piqua  campaign,  305,  307;  at  Moravian 
massacre,  321. 

Slavery,  first  importation  of  negroes, 
9,10. 

Sleeth,  Alexander  and  Thomas,  early 
settlers,  121. 

Slover,  John,  captured  by  Indians,  335- 
338;  Narrative,  335. 

Small  pox,  feared  by  Indians,  291. 

Smally,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  282. 

Smith, - ,  of  St.  Asaph’s,  205. 

Smith,  Ballard,  94. 

Smith,  Benjamin,  killed  by  Indians,  91. 

Smith,  James,  imprisoned  by  French, 67; 
captured  by  Indians,  79:  chief  of 
“Black-boys',”  105, 106,109-115;  explores 
Kentucky,  115. 

Smith,  John,  attempts  western  explora¬ 
tion,  64. 

Smith,  John,  in  Sandy-creek  voyage,  81; 
militia  officer,  90. 

Smith,  Thomas,  killed  by  Indians,  89,  90. 

Smith,  Mrs.  Thomas,  imprisoned  by  In¬ 
dians,  90. 

Smith,  William  H.,  St.  Clair  Papers ,  404. 

Snake,  John  and  Thomas,  Wyandot 
chiefs,  316,  317. 

Snip,  Wyandot  chief,  316. 

Snodgrass,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  374. 

Snowy  creek,  massacre  on,  280. 

Snyder,  Jacob,  killed  by  Indians,  102. 

Sodousky,  James,  on  Bullitt’s  survey, 
146. 

South  Branch  (or  Fork)  of  Potomac,  75; 
Dunkard  massacre  on,  76,77;  Indians 
defeated  on,  97;  Seybert  massacre,  87- 
89;  emigrants  from,  118-120, 122, 124-126; 
Indians  massacred  on,  135. 

South  Carolina,  46,  59, 160. 

Spanish,  territorial  claims  of,  5;  coloni¬ 
zing  efforts,  7;  capture  Sailing,  48,49; 
in  Kentucky  conspiracy,  130,  254,  258; 
attack  on  St.  Louis,  254. 

Speed,  Thomas,  Wilderness  Road ,  384. 

Spottswood,  Gov.,  crosses  Blue  ridge, 
64. 

Springfield,  W.  Va.,91. 

Sprout  run,  Borden  Manor  on,  51. 

Squissatego,  Seneca  brave,  58. 

Stalnaker, - ,  settles  on  New,  59. 

Stalnaker,  Adam,  attacked  by  Indians, 
343. 

Stalnaker,  Jacob,  settles  on  Tygart,  126; 
attacked  by  Indians,  343. 

Stamford,  Ky.,  197. 

Station  Camp  creek,  Boone  on,  143. 

Staunton,  Va.,9l;  settlement  near,  49,  50; 
Spectator,  53. 

Steele,  John,  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

Stephen,  Adam,  in  Forbes’s  campaign, 
70;  in  Sandy-creek  voyage,  81;  in  Dun¬ 
more’s  war,  164. 

Steeth,  John,  chases  Indians,  246. 

Steubenville,  O.,  78,  320. 

Stewart,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  234. 

Stites,  - ,  makes  Miami  purchase,  390. 

Stone  Coal  creek,  origin  of  name,  121. 

Stone,  Uriah,  explores  Kentucky,  115. 

Stoner,  Michael,  explores  Kentucky, 
152,  190. 

Stone’s  river,  origin  of  name,  115. 

Stout,  Benjamin,  126. 

Strait,  Jacob,  killed  by  Indians,  375. 


Stroud,  Adam,  killed  by  Indians,  136- 
138. 

Stuart,  Betsy,  marries  Woods,  54. 

Stuart,  Charles  A.,  53. 

Stuart,  David,  marries  Jane  Lynn,  53. 

Stuart,  James,  killed  by  Indians,  280. 

Stuart,  John,  pioneer  on  Greenbrier,  53, 
54,  57—59 ;  companion  of  Boone,  143, 
144;  in  Dunmore’s  war,  159-161,169,  170, 
174;  at  murder  of  Cornstalk,  211,  212; 
defends  Greenbrier,  243-245;  Memoir  of 
Indian  Wars,  180. 

Sullivan,  John,  campaign  against  New 
York  Indians,  210. 

Susquehanna  river,  136;  Munsees  on,  46; 
forays  on,  101-104. 

Swan,  John,  early  settler,  123,  125,  149; 
militia  officer,  226-228;  defends  Wheel¬ 
ing,  360. 

Swope, - ,  trapper,  96. 

Sycamore  shoals,  treaty  at,  192. 

Symmes,  John  Cleves,  secures  Miami 
land-grant,  390-392. 

Tanner,  Edward,  captured  bv  Indians, 
342. 

Tate, - ,  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

Tate’s  creek,  196. 

Tawas.  See  Ottawas. 

Taylor,  Capt.,  killed  by  Indians,  423. 

Taylor,  Hugh  Paul,  Sketches,  51,  53,  85. 

Tazewell  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  55, 
56. 

Tazewell  Court  House,  Va.,  raided  by  In¬ 
dians,  373,  374. 

Tecumseh,  conspiracy  of,  35,  36;  in  Wag¬ 
goner  massacre,  409-411. 

Tegard,  Abraham,  early  settler,  123. 

Telford,  Hugh,  early  settler,  52. 

Tennessee,  75;  stone  graves  in,  43;  Sai¬ 
ling  in,  48,  49;  early  missions  in,  106; 
Boone  in,  144,  145. 

Tennessee  river,  253;  Sailing  on,  48,  49; 
Holston  on,  59;  explored  by  Smith,  115; 
in  Henderson's  purchase,  193,  195. 

Ten  Mile  creek,  first  settlement  on,  190; 
in  Dunmore’s  war,  151;  forays  on,  238- 
240,  381. 

Terry,  Cornet,  killed  by  Indians,  423. 

Thomas,  Abraham,  Sketches .  180. 

Thomas,  John,  early  settler,  122,  123; 
killed  by  Indians,  309,  310,  343. 

Thompson, - ,  surveys  on  Licking,  146. 

Thompson,  Jethro,  house  burned  by  In¬ 
dians,  383. 

Thompson,  John,  Indian  go-between, 
263. 

Thompson,  William,  assists  “Black- 
boys.”  112, 113. 

Todd,  John,  defends  Kentucky,  200  ; 
killed  at  Blue  Licks,  351,  353. 

Todd,  Levi,  in  Bowman’s  campaign,  271; 
in  Wabash  campaign,  386. 

Tomlinson,  Benjamin,  149;  founds 
Moundsville,  230. 

Tomlinson,  Samuel,  adventure  with  In¬ 
dians,  222. 

Tonty,  Henri  de,  with  La  Salle,  6. 

Trails,  Warrior  branch,  75,  399;  Nemaco- 
lin’s  path,  77;  Cumberland  Gap,  143, 
152, 192,  384;  Wilderness  road,  384. 

Transylvania  Company,  settles  Ken¬ 
tucky,  190-196. 

Treaties,  Ryswiek,  195;  Paris  (1763),  7, 
106,139;  Lancaster,  195;  Easton,  58;  Ft. 
Stanwix,  45,  70,  195:  Lochaber,  195; 
Bouquet’s,  91,  108,  134,  141,  179;  Camp 
Charlotte,  145,  147,  173,  176-186,  195,  197; 
Watauga,  153,  192,  195;  Paris  (1782),  365, 
384;  Au  Glaize,  374,  376;  Ft.  McIntosh, 
97,  366,  388;  Ft.  Finney,  388;  Greenville, 
141,  117,  420,  430. 


446 


Index 


Trent,  William,  at  Redstone,  77. 

Trigg,  Col.,  killed  at  Blue  Licks,  353, 

Triplett,  William,  killed  by  Indians,  411, 
412. 

Trueman,  Maj.,  killed  by  Indians,  412. 

Tugg  river,  origin  of  name,  85. 

Turkey  creek,  99. 

Turkey  run,  119,  121. 

Turtle  creek,  scene  of  Braddock’s  de¬ 
feat,  67. 

Tuscarawas  river,  McIntosh’s  expedi¬ 
tion,  256,  261;  Moravian  missions  on, 
219,301,  313-317,  320,  336. 

Tuscarora  Indians,  legend  of,  18. 

Twightee  Indians,  strength  of,  46. 

Twitty,  William,  at  Watauga  treaty,  192; 
killed  by  Indians,  196. 

Tygart,  David,  settles  in  Tvgart’s  valley, 
74,  75. 

Tygart’s  valley,  first  settled,  74, 126;  Prin¬ 
gles  in,  117-122;  in  Dunmore's  war,  151; 
during  Revolution,  284,  286,  287,  311; 
miscellaneous  forays  in,  232-235,  341, 
343  421,  422  428. 

Tyler  county’,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),  56,  63. 

Unadilla  river,  Delawares  on,  136. 

Uniontown,  Pa.,  77. 

Valley  of  Virginia,  early  Indians  in, 
46;  Sailing’s  exploration,  48,  49;  Mc¬ 
Dowell’s  fight,  52;  first  settled,  61,  190; 
Mrs.  Cunningham  in,  373. 

Valley  river,  63;  Pringles  on,  118, 119;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  151;  during  Revolu¬ 
tion,  287;  forays  on,  252,  311. 

Van  Meter,  Jacob,  early  settler,  123. 

Vause, - ,  settles  on  New,  59. 

Veech,  James,  Monongahela  of  Old,  79,  80. 

Vernon,  Maj.,  at  Ft.  Laurens,  265. 

Vigo,  M.,  assists  Clark,  258. 

Vincennes,  Ind.,  in  Clark’s  campaign, 
253-255,  257-261,  386;  Hamtramck  atj  394. 

Virginia,  Indian  mounds,  40;  early  tribes, 
44-47;  Borden  manor,  50-53;  Loyal  Co., 
49;  Fairfax  grant,  50,  51;  characteristics 
of  early  settlers,  54;  Sailing’s  opera¬ 
tions,  47-49;  early  explorations,  64; 
Ohio  Co.,  64,  65;  Braddock’s  campaign, 
65-69;  Forbes’s  campaign,  69-73;  boun¬ 
dary  dispute  with  Pennsylvania,  74, 
142;  Pontiac’s  war,  97;  New-river  foray, 
96-99;  militia  of,  100,  101;  border  settle¬ 
ments,  125;  military  land  warrants, 
145;  Wapatomica  campaign,  153-155; 
Dunmore’s  attitude  toward,  179;  relin¬ 
quishes  western  land  claim,  130,  389; 
Dinwiddie  Papers,  86;  Calendar  of  State 
Papers,  86. 

Wabash  Indians,  raided  by  Hamtramck, 
394;  by  Scott,  407,  408;  agree  to  peace, 
412. 

Wabash  river,  in  Clark’s  campaigns,  257- 
259,  385,  386;  arrival  of  peace  news,  365. 

Wachatomakah,  Indian  village,  336. 

Waggoner,  John,  family  massacred  by 
Indians,  408-411. 

Waggoner,  Peter,  captured  by  Indians, 
409-411. 

Walden’s  creek,  origin  of  name,  60. 

Walden,  Elisha,  killed  by  Indians,  59,  60. 

Walholling  river,  314,  317. 

Walker,  Felix,  at  Watauga  treaty,  192; 
wounded  by  Indians,  196. 

Walker,  Thomas,  explores  Kentucky, 
81;  Journal ,  59. 

Walker,  William,  educated  Wvandot, 
96,  97. 

Wallace, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  319. 

Walpole,  - ,  interest  in  Pittsylvania, 

145. 


Wapatomica,  McDonald’s  expedition 
against,  138,  153-155;  Indian  council  at, 

347. 

Ward,  Mrs.,  escapes  from  Indians,  422. 

Warrior  Branch,  Indian  trail,  75. 

Wars,  French  and  Indian,  65-74,  77-80, 
100-106,  143,  190,  334,  387;  McDowell’s 
fight,  66;  Saudy-creek  voyage,  81-86; 
Bouquet's  campaign,  106^109;  Brad¬ 
dock’s  campaign,  143,  145,  147,  169; 
Forbes’s  campaign,  145,  150,  190;  Pon¬ 
tiac’s  war,  73,  97,  141,  172;  Dunmore  s 
war,  66,  78,  127,  134-190,  209,  253,  334; 
Revolution,  66,  78,  86,  124,  145,  146,  177, 
178,  182,  187-365,  382,  387;  Hand’s  cam¬ 
paign,  209-211;  Harmar’s,  384,  393-395, 
400,  408;  St.  Clair’s,  400-405,  407,  408, 
413;  Wayne’s,  412-428. 

Warwick, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Warwick,  Jacob,  attacked  by  Indians, 

286,  287. 

Warwick,  William,  attacked  by  Indians, 

287. 

Washburn,  Benjamin,  attacked  by  Indi¬ 
ans,  247. 

Washburn,  Charles,  killed  by  Indians, 
345. 

Washburn,  Isaac,  killed  by  Indians, 
241. 

Washburn,  James,  tortured  by  Indians, 
250,  251. 

Washburn,  Stephen,  killed  by  Indians, 
250. 

Washington  county,  Ky.,  106,  190. 

Washington  county,  Pa.,  settled,  125; 
militia  of,  320,  327,  328. 

Washington  county,  Va.,  census  (1830), 
56;  militia  of,  165,  174,  268;  threatened 
by  Bird,  299. 

Washington,  George,  in  French  and 
Indian  war,  45,  65,  67,  69,  71,  74,  77,  100, 
101,  145,  334;  friendship  for  Andrew 
Lewis,  70;  advises  Sandy-creek  voy¬ 
age,  81;  on  Seybert  massacre,  87;  in 
Revolutionary  war,  106;  friend  of  Ru¬ 
fus  Putman,  389;  Tour  to  the  Ohio,  73. 

Watauga  river,  treaty  with  Indians  on, 
153,  192. 

Waterford,  O.,  founded,  393. 

Wayne,  Anthony,  general  of  army,  412; 
campaign  against  Western  Indians, 
147,  412-428. 

Webb,  Jonas,  early  settler,  126. 

Wells,  Bazaleel,  at  Point  Pleasant,  174. 

Wells,  Maj..  on  Shawnee  campaign,  355. 

Wellsburg,  W.  Va.,  380. 

Welsh,  on  the  border,  49. 

West,  Alexander,  378;  chases  Indians, 
246,  311;  adventure  with  Indians,  287- 
290;  on  Lovvther's  expedition,  376,  377; 
sketch,  288. 

West  Augusta,  district  of,  63;  first  justice 
of  peace,  127. 

West,  Charles,  chases  Indians,  246. 

West,  Edmund,  Sr.,  attacked  by  Indians, 
288;  killed  by  Indians,  377-379. 

West,  Edmund,  Jr.,  family  attacked  by 
Indians,  378,  379. 

West  Fork  river,  origin  of  name,  122; 
first  settlements  on,  126,  127;  in  Dun¬ 
more’s  war,  151,156;duringRevolution, 
240,311,312,  343;  miscellaneous  forays 
on,  217,  218,  250,  251,  366,  367,  376,  400, 
410,  411,  414,  419,  422,  428. 

West  Newton,  Pa.,  departure  of  Marietta 
pilgrims,  389. 

W’est  Virginia,  character  of  early  Indi¬ 
ans  in,  36;  mounds  in,  40;  early  tribes 
in,  44-47;  census  (1830),  63;  first  settle¬ 
ments  in  (prior  to  1774),  117-133. 

Westfall, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Westfall,  O.,  176. 


Index. 


447 


Westmoreland  county,  Pa.,  115. 

Westmoreland  county,  Va.,  militia  of, 
210,  327,  328;  forays  in,  301. 

Wetzel  county,  W.  Va.,  279. 

Wetzel,  George,  Indian  fighter,  161. 

Wetzel,  Jacob,  adventure  with  Indians, 
161-163. 

Wetzel,  John,  Indian  fighter,  125, 161. 

Wetzel,  Lewis,  Indian  fighter,  125,  161- 
163,  338,  339;  sketch,  161. 

Wetzel',  Martin,  Indian  fighter,  161. 

Wheat,  Betsy,  at  seige  of  Wheeling,  225. 

Wheeling.  W.  Va.,  40;  founded,  124,  125; 
in  Dunmore’s  war,  134, 146,  148,  149, 152- 
154,  163,  165,  179;  first  seige  of,  219-228, 
235;  second  seige,  224,  356-360;  Fore¬ 
man’s  defeat,  228-230;  during  Revolu¬ 
tion,  237,  299,  301,  319,  336,  338,  362;  Mc¬ 
Kee’s  foray,  316;  317. 

Wheeling  creek,  m  Dunmore’s  war,  151, 
161. 

White  Eyes,  Delaware  chief,  150, 175, 176, 
179,  180,  182,  183,  221,  302. 

White,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  284. 

White,  William,  murders  Indians,  136, 
137:  captured  by  Indians,  232,  233; 
killed  by  Indians,  340. 

Whiteman, - ,  early  settler,  126. 

Whitley,  Paul,  early  settler,  52;  with 
Braddock,  66. 

Whitley,  William,  arrival  in  Kentucky, 
197;  scout,  271;  attacks  Indians,  385, 
386;  Narrative,  203,205. 

Whitley,  Mrs.  William,  adventure  with 
Indians,  203. 

Whittlesey,  Charles,  Fugitive  Essays,  183. 

Wilkinson,  James,  attacks  Miamis,  407; 
builds  Ft.  Recovery,  419. 

Williams  and  Mary  college,  145. 

Williams,  Isaac,  explorer,  124. 

Williams,  John,  of  Transylvania  Co.,  191. 

Williamsburg,  Va.,  47,  86,  87  159,  178; 
Sailing  at,  49;  John  Lewis  at,  50;  in 
Dunmore’s  war,  151, 154. 

Williamson,  David,  expedition  against 
Moravians,  314-318,  320-327:  in  Craw¬ 
ford’s  campaign,  327,  328,  331. 

Williamson,  Lieut.,  at  Ft.  Pitt,  78. 

Williamson,  Peter,  captured  by  Indians, 
101-104. 

Will’s  creek,  Ohio  Co.’s  post  at,  67,  74,  77. 

Wilson,  - ,  killed  at  Point  Pleasant, 

171. 

Wilson,  Benjamin,  184,  186,  234,235,247, 
284,  311. 

Winchester,  Va.,  56,  68,  71,  81,  121;  fur 
trade  at,  47, 48;  threatened  by  Indians, 


101;  trial  of  White,  136;  during  Revo¬ 
lution,  252, 

Wingenund,  Delaware  chief,  333. 

Winston’s  Meadows,  99. 

Wisconsin,  Indian  mounds  in,  42. 

Wisconsin  Historical  Society,  manu¬ 
scripts  in  library  of,  49,  75,  81,  87, 170, 
193,  203?  205,  221,  259,  260;  Collections,  58. 

Wisconsin  river,  explored  by  French,  6. 

Wolf  creek,  82,  392,  393,  396. 

Wood,  Abraham,  discovers  Great  Kana¬ 
wha,  64. 

Wood  county,  W.  Va.,  census  (1830),  56, 
63;  first  sheriff  of,  127. 

Wood,  Nicholas,  killed  by  Indians,  375. 

Woodfin,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  249. 

Woodford,  Col.,  72. 

Woods,  Richard,  54. 

Woodson,  Obadiah,  in  Sandy-creek  voy¬ 
age,  81. 

Wright, - ,  killed  by  Indians,  344. 

Wyalusing,  Pa.,  Moravian  village,  319. 

Wyandot  Indians,  early  strength  of,  46; 
in  Kansas,  96,  97;  in  Dunmore’s  war, 
172:  at  Foreman’s  defeat,  230;  during 
Revolution,  219,  262,  316.  317,  320,  327, 
332,  347,  362-364;  at  Ft.  McIntosh  treaty, 
366,  388. 

Wyllys,  Maj.,  killed  by  Indians,  393,  394. 

Wythe  county,  Va.,  census  (1830),  55,  56. 

Yadkin  river,  Boone  on,  143, 144,  205. 

Yellow  creek,  Logan  massacre  at,  134, 
138,  148-150,  184. 

Youghiogheny  river,  crossed  by  Brad- 
dock,  67:  early  settlements  on,  74,  77, 
113,  114, 118,  334;  Marietta  pilgrims  on, 
389. 

Zane,  Andrew,  adventure  with  Indians, 

222. 

Zane,  Ebenezer,  148;  settles  Wheeling, 
124,  125;  defends  Wheeling,  225,  228, 
230,  356-360;  in  Brodhead’s  expedition, 
3u0. 

Zane,  Elizabeth,  at  seige  of  Wheeling, 
359. 

Zane,  Isaac,  captured  by  Indians,  124; 
daughter  wounded,  418. 

Zane,  Jonathan,  settles  at  Wheeling,  124; 
in  Dunmore’s  war,  153. 

Zane,  Noah,  125,  225. 

Zane,  Silas,  settles  at  Wheeling,  124;  de¬ 
fends  Wheeling,  356,  357. 

Zanesville,  O.,  153. 

Zeisberger,  David,  Moravian  missionary, 
301,  314,  315,  317. 


